The two women left in the dead of night, Hotaru with just a brief understanding of what was going on. Hotaru knew that there were other worlds out there, how could she not when she herself came from another planet...other realms as well. No matter what you believed in as far as religion went, there was a set place for Paradise for good souls who had accomplished good things in their human lives, and a general Hell, or Inferno as some called it, for souls that were to be punished for their misdeeds. She and Setsuna were headed for the Reikai, the realm that all spirits must passed through to be judged on where they would spend their afterlife.
She felt no fear at the thought of their journey, perhaps a little apprehension. Hotaru herself had been exempt from ever having to pass through Reikai as her status as a celestial warrior prevented it. Whenever a celestial being, such as a senshi, passed away, their souls returned to the Galaxy Cauldron where they would be reborn when the time was right or permission was granted. She herself had been to that Cauldron a number of times as it was the birthplace of all stars and celestial beings in the galaxy. Now that the Chaos Seed had been dissolved within the Cauldron, it would continue to live inside the minds of the people born from that Cauldron but in its weakened state would be unable to pose a threat for quite some time...millenniums at the earliest. This meant that the Cauldron was a perfect place to store the lost Star Seeds of senshi and those who had died.
Humans, demons, and all other non-celestial beings were subject to judgment by the Reikai and the entity who presided over it: King Enma and his son.
Setsuna had teleported them to the Gates of Time, requesting passage to bypass the barrier that supposedly stood strong between the human and Reikai realms. They were going to question the strength of the barrier and learn of the possible threat that demons might pose to the humans. Hotaru wasn't sure how much stock she could put into that...the senshi never encountered a rogue demon around the Juuban area but that of course didn't automatically rule out their existence. Still, it was strange that she had never met one until now. She assumed demons liked to claim territory just as humans did so it was entirely possible that they simply had missed those parts in the city.
"Come along Hotaru-chan," Setsuna called, breaking her from her reverie. Hotaru nodded, following the woman without a word. Hopefully this trip would be over quickly.
"Right this way, Lord Koenma will see you now." a woman in a dark gray robe called Ayame explained to them, a 'grim reaper' of sorts who was normally tasked with the task of research; she was currently taking over the job of another river Styx guide due to them being "short-handed". Hotaru grimaced a little on the inside...that didn't sound good in whatever context you happened to put it into to.
The two were lead down a long hallway, the quiet woman still their silent guide in their journey. They hadn't been granted an audience with King Enma, instead being able to met with his son who was less busy, aptly named Koenma. Setsuna didn't seem too upset with this, surely anything that was brought before Koenma would make it back to his father.
Behind large, wooden red doors sat a single desk...it looked to be empty. As soon as all three women had entered the room, the doors creaked back to a close. Hotaru looked around, never having seen this place before...it certainly wasn't what she had imagined it to be. The walls were rather plain and muffled noises of yelling and confusion could just barely be heard on the other side of the walls. So...there were actually spirits and demons who held jobs here and worked like normal humans, Hotaru affirmed watching as what appeared to be an oni hurriedly ran past them with a stack of papers in his arms.
"Lord Koenma, you have visitors from the human world." Ayame gave a small bow, excusing herself from the room as she disappeared down a connecting corridor.
There was some shuffling behind the desk, the mountain of papers stacked to the ceiling threatened to topple over at any minute if the desk continued to shake. "Gimme just a minute! That foolish ogre! It's all his fault I lost my stamp marker! How am I supposed to sentence paradises and punishments now?!"
Hotaru's mouth formed into a tiny 'o'-shape...that certainly wasn't the voice she was expecting to hear. She had been expecting something more gruff, demonic sounding in a sense...she snuck a glance up at Setsuna who's face hadn't changed, showing that there was no reason for concern. Perhaps Setsuna had met with him before? Without warning, a rather large bluish, purple hat rose into view followed by a pair of less than happy brown eyes. With a quick jump, he made his way onto the desk somehow avoiding knocking over the papers.
"Yes, I'm Lord Koenma...what do you want? Make it quick, okay?" Hotaru's mouth retained it's shape...was a toddler really the 2nd in command of the Reikai? She thought best to keep her mouth shut. She didn't plan on insulting him or anything but perhaps questioning his size wasn't the best course of action...she couldn't really talk with her short height either. Setsuna gave a small cough, clearing her throat,
"Lord Koenma, I am known as Setsuna Meiou in this form, but I am also princess of the planet Pluto and the Guardian of Time."
"A celestial?" he questioned, his attention now obviously focused on them, "Why would you end up here?"
"We're not dead, I'm afraid. Actually, we've come to inquire about a problem. Even celestial beings know that the realms of the human world and those of the many others are never to mix. My daughter, Hotaru Tomoe, seems to have encountered one...a demon." Hotaru performed a quick curtsey when his eyes fell on her.
"I am known as Hotaru Tomoe in my human form, but I am also princess of Saturn, Guardian of Death, Rebirth, and Destruction."
"Hotaru," Setsuna nodded, informing the girl that she should tell her story.
Hotaru nodded back, prepared to tell her story as politely and quickly as possible. She decided the beginning was as good a place to start as any, telling him about the dream involving the hiruseki stone, and about the boy in black who had accosted her in the park earlier that day. She explained about the strange power of fire that the boy seemed to control which made her believe that he must have been a demon.
Koenma grimaced as her story was finished...he had a fairly good idea of who the girl was talking about."Ugh, Hiei why are you causing trouble..." the toddler-sized leader turned away to grumble, chewing his pacifier as he did so. "Wait a second...did you say hiruseki?" he proclaimed, jumping from his sitting position atop the desk to float over towards Hotaru's face.
"Um...yes sir? I mean, I don't know anything about them, I just had a dream where I found one. While I was in the human realm earlier today, I started to ask around about it to see if anyone knew what it was and then...that boy showed up." she basically repeated her story, wondering if he had even heard her at all the first time. "Setsuna-mama told me that hiruseki stones were precious because of their monetary value to humans and demons alike but that's not why I'm looking for one. Actually, I'm looking for-"
But the dark-haired girl was cut short by the abrupt opening of the doors, creaking with age and weight as they forcefully flew open. "Lord Koenma! We've got trouble and I can't get a hold of Yusuke!" it was a blue-haired girl in a pink kimono and she was...riding a boat oar? This place was just filled with oddities she remarked as the girl flew to a stop and remained sitting, she gave them a small nod in place of a bow to excuse herself and continued on, "And it looks like we've got a rather nasty one on our hands this time. Can't you try to find Yusuke, or even Kuwabara?!"
Botan knew how much the orange-headed boy hated being the back-up, or Spirit Detective #2, or whatever he was calling it nowadays but he'd have to get over it. Technically he was although Reikai hadn't put much stock into the idea, making it an unofficial position. Still, there was no time to waste with a demon about to go on the rampage down the human world.
"Did you say...you mean there's trouble?" Hotaru questioned almost immediately, not missing the name drop of Yusuke but it certainly couldn't have been the same boy she met earlier with Kayko. "If so, we could help out."
"Hotaru-chan, you go. I must stay here for there are still things that must be discussed." Setsuna nodded, urging to go on. The blue-haired girl mentioned trouble...a demon on the loose no doubt.
"Right." Hotaru responded, coming to stand in front of the girl on the oar, "I may not look like much of a fighter but I'll do what I can." Unlike last time when confronted with a fight, this time she carried her henshin wand with her. The blue-haired girl looked a bit uneasy at the much shorter girl.
"Uh...are you sure about this, dear? We wouldn't want you getting hurt when there's an idiot Spirit Detective who should be out there doing his job." the woman smiled genuinely, hiding her hands within the long pink sleeves of her kimono. Hotaru noticed she seemed to have some sort of accent but couldn't place where she might have heard it before. Hotaru simply nodded back at her...she would have transformed here but if the situation was as urgent as the oar-girl made it seem then they had no time to waste.
"Alrighty then, hop on," the girl commanded, hovering low enough to the ground so that Hotaru could gain access. Without warning, the girl turned and sped off, Hotaru nearly falling off from the force but had luckily grabbed onto the woman's waist.
"Botan's my name and being the 'Grim Reaper' is my game!" she happily chanted as the two girls disappeared off to human world.
"Just as well, there are more important things I wish to discuss with you, Lord Koenma, and do not fret for I will not be long." Setsuna started up again, turning in the direction of the toddler-sized boy who still remained floating in mid-air. "Because of my daughter's encounter with a demon boy earlier today, I've come to question exactly how strong the barriers between the worlds are. You know as well I as do that realms are not mix as such. Even as the Guardian of Time and the Time Gates, I can't sit by and let a world fall to ruin if I have the ability to stop it." Setsuna cringed inwardly, realizing her words...she had said nearly the same thing all those years ago when the Outers had decided to destroy Saturn for the good of the world.
"The Time Gates, I see...now I remember who the both of you are. You and the girl are immortals, correct?"
"In a sense..." Setsuna trailed, wondering where he was going with that information as it really had nothing to do with the topic at hand. "We are Sailor Senshi first and foremost, female warriors entrusted with protecting the galaxy from outside forces, however, the Sailor Wars have ended and our powers are no longer needed on Earth in this century. It will be a millennium before we are needed again, however, Hotaru and I will be the only original senshi left due to our duties. Death and Time stand eternal where none else can."
"Exactly then. Like I suspected, you and...Hotaru, was it? You and Hotaru were originally alive when the Silver Millennium took place, am I right? I thought the story was just an old myth or a fairy tale, but I suppose the both of you being here proves that wrong. After the fall of the Silver Millennium, everyone who died was reincarnated on Earth if I remember correctly. My father thought it was strange here in Reikai since none of the souls passed through here at all, but instead immediately bypassed us and were reincarnated on Earth. I was not yet born at that time." He tacked onto the end.
"That would be the power of our Princess's ginzuishou. I'd be more than happy to reminisce with you later," Setsuna replied a little sarcastically as the Silver Millennium wasn't exactly her favorite thing to talk about, "but right now I'd be most happy if you could answer my question."
"Of course, I understand." the boy replied, his eyes closed so tightly they resembled mere lines. He levitated back over to his chair and hit a button which opened a paneling in the wall to reveal what looked to be a television set. He pressed a few more buttons before the screen beeped and something was finally shown on the monitor.
"That...is the Kekkai Barrier. It was erected during my father's initial reign before he gave most of the responsibilities over to me. It's quite strong and sturdy as you'll see, any stray demons that try to pass through it will be obliterated."
"Then how are demons still passing over into the human world?"
"Please, let me finish. While the kekkai net is strong, it grows weaker everyday and will soon need to be replaced by a new one. The kekkai net is still good for now, it only allows A-class demons or higher to pass through and those who hold that rank are smart enough to stay where they are in Makai. They hold no quarter in the human world as it disgusts them...most of them are too busy vying to rule the Makai. On the other hand...there have been holes forming in the kekkai..." he trailed off, grumbling again as he fell backwards into his seat.
"Holes? So that means there are demons passing over then?" Setsuna turned in shock, her theory slowing becoming true.
"In a sense. The one your daughter met with is...'employed' shall we say with Reikai. He was a thief along with two others who attempted to steal one of the artifacts from our treasure vault. The trio was dealt with by our Spirit Detective and so we keep the two that survived chained down to the human world to keep an eye on them. They work for us to repay back their crime." Koenma explained, pressing more buttons to dismiss the surveillance of the kekkai net and bring up the profiles of the two demons in question. "Their names are Hiei and Kurama...do they look familiar?"
"I'm afraid I don't know. It was my daughter who encountered one, not me." Setsuna responded, carefully looking over both pictures. The one on the left fit Hotaru's description the best. It showed only a bust image but she could tell that the boy wore all black, had spiky black hair as well. The one on the right was a mystery to her entirely, she assuming that this must have the black-clad one's partner during their time as thieves. Thieves who were trying to steal artifacts huh...
"You say they tried to steal artifacts...mind if I ask what they were?" Setsuna inquired, turning away from the screen to look back at him again.
Koenma chewed his pacifier before he answered, "Well, one was a sword called the Conjuring Blade that can turn whoever is cut with it into a low-class demon. The other artifact was called the Forlorn Hope, a mirror that can only be activated on the night of a full moon. It has the ability to grant the owner one wish but it can only do so in exchange for the person's life. That numbskull Yusuke cracked it and broke it though."
"And the last artifact? You mentioned they were a trio."
"The other thief is long since dead but what he tried to steal is called the Orb of Baast. It has the ability to steal souls. All of them have been securely locked away, more so than they ever wore before. If you're wondering if hiruseki stones were in the mix, I'm afraid you're out of luck."
"Am I that easy to read?" Setsuna responded with smile, closing her eyes.
Hotaru was beginning to feel a little sea-sick, for lack of a better word, as the woman driving the oar did so in a crazy manner. They tumbled and soared through gray clouds as they went, finally emerging into the clear, star-riddled night sky of the human world.
"I thought Reikai and the human world weren't supposed to be connected like that! I mean, I thought you couldn't cross the barrier so easily!" Hotaru yelled, the wind velocity would surely cut her voice down so it was barely audible.
"Normally it isn't," Botan replied back, "what we just used was a special portal that was developed by Reikai so we can take souls back and forth from the human world! Only river Styx guides can pass through, and anybody they might be carrying on their oars of course!" she explained happily as they continued to descend lower and lower.
"Oh, I see...could it be possible that someone without an oar could get through?" Hotaru felt she should question this...Setsuna might be interested in knowing some of this.
"If they did it would be a miracle! Only river Styx guides can create the oars so if anyone else tried to go through, they'd be expelled out or burnt to a crisp or something rather unpleasant. We haven't had anyone try it for awhile now, but we're pretty sure it would do something rather nasty to them!"
Hotaru grimaced...remind her to always go to the Gates of Time to earn passage before she went anywhere again.
Finally, they had descended low enough to be just over the city so yelling was no longer required. Hotaru couldn't help but wonder if the people below could see them. She asked Botan about this.
"Nope, we're as invisible as air when we're up here. When I let you down however, try your best not to be seen and look as inconspicuous as possible, okay? We definitely don't need a human finding out and we want take that ugly monster by surprise." Hotaru nodded, hoping that Botan could sense the motion. Releasing an arm from around the girl's waist, Hotaru reached into her leather shoulder bag and pulled forth her henshin stick. It had been two full years since she'd called on Saturn...she just hoped she wasn't rusty with her Glaive.
"There it is, up ahead!" Botan whispered, Hotaru looking around her to see. Wait a minute...this place seemed familiar...it was the park she was at earlier today when the demon boy nearly broke her wrist. Hotaru grimaced looking down at her wrist. Due to her healing abilities, the sprain had healed much faster than she suspected but had kept the brace on just in case. She carefully undid the brace and tucked it into her bag, twisting her wrist in every direction to make sure it was okay to use. It was perfectly fine much to her surprise...she really should give herself more credit.
"You ready? I'll drop you close enough if you are." Botan informed, Hotaru replying that she was more than ready. As soon as the blue-haired girl got close enough to the ground, Hotaru swallowed her fear, focused her balance onto the oar and stood up, and with a leap, flew into the air with henshin stick held high.
"Saturn Crystal Power...make-up!"
Purple energy erupted from the wand and disappeared in a blinding flash, leaving only her extended hand suspended in the air. Bright sparkles appeared around her fingertips, polishing them with a purple paint. She spun around, feeling the energy pooling around her...it was warm, strong, and safe. An orb began to form, coming up to envelope her from the ground up. It engulfed her, disappearing and leaving her white body suit behind. Another flash of purple light and her skirt had formed. The giant polearm she knew so well rose from the Earth and flew to her hands. She felt Saturn surge within her, the purple sigil appearing on her forehead.
She landed with a thud.
Saturn wasn't the type for speeches like Moon and the other Outers instead holding up her end as the Soldier of Silence, engaging her enemies without a word. The monster looked to be an ogre, tall and coarse-looking with an ugly snout. It was a wonder the thing hadn't made it to the residential areas yet, seeming to be much too content with wrecking the tiny park in front of him. "Where are youuuuu?!" it bellowed, crushing the metal swingset with the force of its bare hands. Almost as if sensing her presence, the beast turned towards her and growled.
"Foolish human! Come out of hiding! Where is heeee?!" it bellowed again. The human comment had been direct towards her, but who exactly was he talking about otherwise? The creature was obviously confused...lost maybe? Who could he be searching for here in the human world? "I can smell him, I know he's been here! When I find you I will rip you to shreds!" Well, that certainly clinched it...she couldn't have this thing rampaging around and possibly injuring innocent people.
"I don't think so! Stop right there!" Saturn yelled knowing that the beast could hear her, "To protect peace I will put an end to you!" Readying her glaive into an attack stance, she charged toward the creature. As Saturn she was a good deal faster and gained the ability to jump a great deal higher and farther. However, she didn't get far when she saw the monster's eyes roll back into his head causing her to skid to a stop. What...had just happened? The beast toppled over facedown with a thud that kicked up a flurry of dust. Behind where the creature had stood was a figure...she could just barely make out that it was shaped like a person...a person with spiky hair and a sword in hand.
Gritting her teeth, she clutched her glaive tighter...now who was it? The dust cleared quickly as the figure sheathed its sword. It was...it was the boy from earlier?
"You...?" Saturn whispered as she stared, on eye-level now, with the boy clad all in black. It may have been dark but it was quite easy to see him with help of the low-hanging streetlights. He wore all black as she had noted many times before and it seemed to be seem a simple cloak with a white collar. His hair was outrageously spiky, hints of blue lining the edges, and you definitely couldn't miss the starbust of white in the center. Her eyes also fell on a white headband...it looked ordinary enough but felt out of place on his person.
"And just who are you supposed to be?" he questioned, the mocking tone in his voice unmistakeable. That's right, Saturn recalled, since she was transformed, the protective aura around her kept those from recognizing her other identity as Hotaru Tomoe. Despite the two of them having met earlier, the boy would have no way of knowing it was her.
"I am called Sailor Saturn, the senshi who rules over death, rebirth, and destruction." The title obviously meant very little to him as he didn't so much as bat an eye. "Was that creature looking for you?"
"..." He remained silent, a glare her only answer for awhile before he decided to speak up, "I don't see how any of that is your business, human."
"So, you are a demon as that creature was?"
He scoffed, turning his back on her and began to walk away. Saturn dismissed her glaive and tried to run after him, "Where are you going? Please answer me!"
He abruptly stopped and glanced over his shoulder, "I don't have time to play 20 Questions." and with an impressive jump, or what looked to be like one, disappeared into the night.
Saturn stopped and looked around, trying to find him or at least sense his energy. It was no good, he had just...vanished. It wasn't too hard to tell from what had just gone on. That creature had come here looking for him, to kill him but...what had he done? Just who was he?
Saturn knew she couldn't de-henshin here, there was a chance he might still be slumming around in the shadows and she definitely didn't want to risk him finding out that they had met earlier that day. She had her communicator on her and retrieved it from subspace pocket in her skirt. She contacted Setsuna, hoping the woman would answer. The communicator rang just like a telephone would but no one picked up on the other hand.
"Wonderful job, dear! Amazing if I may say so!" Saturn cringed...Botan was still here? She thought the girl had flown back off to Reikai. "Who knew someone so small carried such a big weapon?"
Saturn tried to smile as if to show it was no big deal...but couldn't, her half-smile fading away into a grimace. Botan gestured for her to get back on the oar and Saturn nodded, Setsuna was still probably back in Reikai waiting for her to return. "Aren't you going to change back?" Botan questioned as they hovered low over the ground. Saturn supposed she might as well since Botan already knew, the boy probably long gone by now anyways. With a flash of light, purple ribbons unwound themselves from her body and came back together to form her henshin stick. Originally, Saturn hadn't been granted a henshin stick, being allowed to use her command as a transformation trigger phrase. This, however, took a toll on her powers and drained energy from her to use; the henshin wand gave her a 'lightning rod' of sorts to channel her powers through and make it easier. Admittedly, she would have preferred a brooch/compact like Sailor Moon but she knew she couldn't do anything to change it.
"Um...Botan?" the tiny girl questioned once the two of them were seated on the oar, well on their way back to Reikai, "Did you see that boy? What did you happen to see?"
"Well, I saw you disappear into the purple light and come out looking quite interesting for one." It probably didn't matter if Botan knew...Koenma had been informed of their status as senshi, and Botan was just a mere guide for lost souls, "And boy? What boy did you mean?"
"There was a boy there, he was dressed all in black and had a sword? He's the one who killed the demon not me!" she exclaimed, wondering how the blue-haired girl could have missed him. Hotaru also couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going to happen to the corpse of the demon...maybe Reikai had a special team for clean-up like that? It was kind of a morbid thought either way.
"Hmm, all in black with a sword? Ah, I've got it! You must mean Hiei! He's got a really rotten temper but he can be decent sometimes." she laughed, Hotaru could feel her own features deflating. So...basically...Botan hadn't gotten a good look or even noticed that he was there because she was too busy marveling Hotaru's weapon. That was the gist of it, Hotaru noted, as the two of them made it back to Reikai. Hotaru doubted that remembering the name 'Hiei' would do her any good...if he was a friend of Botan then he probably was a spirit like her or one of the dead, neither of which the demon boy was. Still, the resemblance and the way Botan described him with such ease and certainty had her questioning what to do.
Maybe she could ask Setsuna to look into for it...
Shout-out to my reviewers! Thanks a lot guys for reading through all this rambling and actually liking it! XD