Chapter 4
A Hero's Trial
A worried and exhausted Rei, sat at the side of one of the guest beds in the shrine, gently wiping Katsuro's forehead with a wet cloth. She had napped here and there, and for the most part Katsuro lay quietly until a while ago. He seemed to be struggling against some unseen foe. The morning had come and her grandpa had been woken up by the commotion. She explained to him that this was a friend of theirs that came to her asking for help with an evil spirit…which wasn't FAR from the truth…possibly? "Come on, fight this." She pleaded quietly, continuing to try helping however she could.
"AAAAAAAAH! UGH! HAAAAA!" Pained yells and screams came from the crimson haired boy laying in bed, however he was asleep, gripping his chest in pain. His body was covered in a cold sweat, soaking. There was a faint glow on his chest, as if something had started to emerge but stopped. More intense screams left his body filled with pain and anguish. He was in a deep sleep, trapped in a world within his own mind.
"This light? Could this be what the creature was after?" It was dim, but it seemed to glow from within his chest. "What is happening to him?" She had seen seeds pulled from people, crystals, energy, stars. This had to be something to do with her vision. But what is the enemy after? Who or what is this enemy?
"Wh…ere am I?" The crimson-haired boy looked around, but all that could be seen for miles was darkness. He gripped his chest tightly, his breathing strained and short. "This pressure, it feels so heavy. What's going on here? Is this a dream? I've never had control in a dream before. I remember walking out from Rei's. I turned to talk to her then..." He was put to his knees from an unknown strain on his body, the sweat running from his face, and his muscles tightened.
"Ugh, it feel like I'm being torn apart from the inside!" There were ripples in the darkness before him, as if it were a liquid. Then, the figures he had gone up against before began to rise. His eyes widened in horror, there were so many of them. "Stay back!" He yelled from his kneeled position.
She placed her hand on his chest, there was a vision of a phoenix again in blazing flames before her. Suddenly she felt some sort of kick back from him that knocked her onto the ground. However, whatever pulse or wave of energy threw her back seemed to react with her Mars Crystal. "What?! No!" A glow began to engulf her body. The symbol of Mars appeared on her forehead as her eyes went blank. Both bodies began to glow, a stream of orange energy branching from both of them, connecting in the middle.
Up above, a transparent figure floated in the air. Raven black hair waved, flowed as her body seemed to lay limp in the sky of this place. Her eyes began to twitch as they slowly fluttered open, her violet eyes wearily scanned her surroundings. 'Huh…what happened? Whats going on?! I can't talk!' Her thoughts locked only into her mind as panic briefly took ahold of her. She remembered reaching to Katsuro then being knocked back.
"Katsuro…fight." A voice echoed through the darkness, loud and booming.
Rei could hear this voice from what seemed to be all around her. 'Katsuro…?' She looked all around then looked below to where she could see him surrounded by what appeared to be the creatures from yesterday. 'Am I inside his subconscious with him?!' Her eyes widened remembering her crystal had also reacted to the energy from his chest. She tried to wave to him, but it was no use. She couldn't make any sound, nor be seen by him it seemed. She could only watch on in helplessness.
'So, we have an onlooker to witness this young boy's trial.' The voice seemed to only echo in her mind now.
'Who are you?!' She tried to look around for signs of any other being.
'All will be answered, behold…'
"Fight? How do you know my name!?" He looked frantically around, but there was nothing, only these skeletal-like creatures. He pushed himself up from the ground slowly, stumbling to his feet. His breathing was heavy, though able to get much deeper breaths.
Creatures surrounded him from all sides, forming a circle. "I don't understand what's going on, but it looks like fight is my only option." His fists clenched, raising them up to a defensive stance, his eyes scanned all directions. They began to close in on him all together.
He ducked to a slash from a sword, then grabbed the black skeletal creature's forearm. He then brought it down and elbowed directly into it, breaking it's arm and grabbing the sword once released. Next a spear was jabbed in his direction. He dodged to the left, then followed up the spear with the sword and slashed that creature in half.
Before that creature could burst into a black mist, he used the body to ram into the one behind it. Katsuro then jumped up off its shoulders to get over the hoard, making a sloppy landing onto the ground with a thud then rolling away. However, now he wasn't surrounded. "Right, now I have you all RIGHT where I want you." He smirked with arrogance. "Now, I can use my ultimate technique on all of you. Better prepare yourselves!" He pointed with boastful laughter.
The skeletal creatures stopped in confusion, staring at one another, shrugging, scratching their heads. What could one boy possibly have up his sleeves to attack an entire hoard of them? The creatures seemed to almost believe it though. They looked defensive, bracing themselves for whatever could possible come their way.
'You idiot! Why are you trying to fight?! You're going to get yourself killed! I need to transform! Mars Crystal Power!' She called out, but nothing happened. This was just like yesterday. Why did he insist on trying to fight? She could only hope and pray the others would come and figure a way to save both of them.
"You see, I have a great weapon or rather weapons in my arsenal that your bony skeleton bodies lack!" He taunted them before smacking both of his legs. "These muscled up bad boys right here! And now time to use them to their full ability!" His speech seemed to become more and more fired up, talking up this 'ultimate technique'. "AND NOW!" He yelled out.
The creatures began to move backwards a few steps. What was he going to do? Run in kicking all of them? Some form of martial arts using only his legs? Did he have some secret power or attack that could only be shot or used with kicks?! What was this technique? The creatures were now getting uneasy with how confident he seemed.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" He yelled out, turning then fleeing the scene as fast as he possibly could.
'WHAAAAAA?!' Rei was completely caught off guard by this and almost seemed to fall as she flipped upside down. She quickly spun herself right side up, floating to follow him. This was insane, she had never been in a situation such as this. And what was it she was supposed to witness? Watching a new friend get slaughtered?!
The creatures gazed at the sight, completely and utterly dumbfounded before they finally realized that the whole time, he was planning on fleeing. They finally snapped out of it then began charging after him.
"Crap crap crap crap!" He continued his sprinting, never looking back at them. He stopped, throwing the sword almost as you would a boomerang. The sword went spinning towards the hoard, slashing three in front then knocking them back into a few following short behind. This caused them all to essentially crash into a dogpile. "Aw yeah! Bullseye!" He saw a few climbing over the wreck to continue their pursuit. "Mother…" He whimpered before taking off running again.
As he ran however, there was a wall of flames that rose from the dark ground, blocking his path. "Oh come on! This is getting a bit ridiculous now!" He skidded to a stop, seeing the hoard catching up to him. "Fine, let's do this." He then began to fight them, one by one, struggling to not be pushed into the fire or overwhelmed by numbers. He took one, pulling it towards him then back kicking it into the flames.
Just then he was met with a large club in the back, the wind knocked from his body as he smacked down onto the ground coughing. They began to crowd around him, kicking, punching, and just beating him down. He was then lifted, being dragged to the flames. "No, stop! Don't!" He tried to struggle to break free but could not.
They threw him into the flames, his body being engulfed as he screamed out in pain. He tried to walk out, but it was as if some invisible force was holding him in. 'This can't be how I go! I have to get free!'
Just then it seemed like the flames were no longer causing him harm. He stood within them almost calmly. "How strange…"
It had seemed this strange realm was changing, almost purified. There was a blaze of fire in the sky. "Katsuro. The flames that surround you are not a threat. They are in fact the burning of your will, your fighting spirit." The booming voice echoed as the red-haired boy stared at his hands and body.
"My fighting spirit?" He asked then looked to all the creatures standing just out of the flames, anticipating his next move. "Who are you? And what do you mean, my fighting spirit?" He asked.
'What are you wanting Katsuro to do?! You're going to get him killed whoever you are! Please, don't!' She pleaded.
"Everything will be revealed with time my young warrior. Now hold out your hand, and allow me to channel your fighting spirit into a powerful weapon to vanquish evil with." The voice vibrated all around.
Katsuro didn't know what was going on, but if it was to give him some chance against these monsters, hell anything was worth trying right? He held his right hand up above his head. The flames all began to be drawn to him, almost being sucked into his palm, condensing down. A light began to glow and take shape.
"What's going on?!" He could almost feel something forming in his hand. A hilt formed with the shape of a flame on the bottom. Next, the handguard of a sword formed in the shape of a phoenix with wings spread. The blade began to form next, a wide blade shaped like a flame, one long tip in the middle and a small edge coming out of each side. The sword was orange, almost a two handed sword a bit heftier than a katana.
The flames were all gone and formed this sword in his hand. "Now go, let me see the power of your spirit. Take this sword and destroy the evil before you."
His sapphire eyes seemed to glow even more with a blue light. It was almost as muscle memory was taking over, as if he had done this so many times before. He gripped the sword and brought it down. Tightly gripping the hilt, flames began to swirl around his body. He charged the hoard, making a swing that sent a large sickle of fire energy that wiped out an entire row.
Rei's eyes went wide with awe and shock seeing this energy attack being sent from the weapon he now held. 'Katsuro…has powers? What is this? How is this all happening?'
"What was that? It's like I know how to use this. How bizarre." He gazed at the blade. It was like something deep within him awoke. More creatures jumped after him as he dodged out of the way, slashing them down one by one. His chest began to glow again. "ARGH!" He yelled in pain, fighting it as he kneeled to the ground again. "Why does this keep hurting?! I can't fight it!"
"Katsuro, let go. Do not hold back." Just then, it was as if something had eased all the pain, the weight and pressure he had been feeling here. He felt a strange warmth from within his chest, his heart. His tensed body went limp and relaxed.
He stuck his sword into the ground then took his right hand over his chest. His hand phased through, like moving into a portal. He could feel something within him, something he could grab. He slowly began pulling it from his body, it glistened with an orange light. It was a strange jewel, roughly the size of his hand, maybe slightly bigger. It was shaped like a phoenix with wings spread, the head facing to the right.
'He pulled a jewel out of his chest?! Wait, could that be what the creature was after? Is it possible they could sense something that my spiritual powers even couldn't?' She then recalled the visions of a phoenix every time she touched him. Though insane as all of this was, everything was starting to make sense to her in a weird way.
The light on his chest disappeared as he held the jewel tightly in his hands, gazing at it. The creatures began to close in on him as the jewel began to glow. His eyes began to glow blue. There was a phrase that began ringing in his mind, it was his voice? He then held it across his chest facing outwards.
"You know what to do, now go forth warrior." The voice called.
"Power of the Phoenix!" He called out, holding it up into the air. The jewel blasted a light into the sky that acted as a projector shining an image to a surface, showing the shape of the jewel in orange light facing down at him. The phoenix shaped light began to fall towards him, lowering onto his head. As it fell to the ground, surrounding his body, red armor began forming around his body in a blaze of fire energy.
Finally, the large phoenix shaped energy disappeared as it touched the ground. Embers began to float in the air disappearing as they rose away from his body. He now stood there in crimson red armor with a phoenix shaped head on the chest plate and shoulder pads. There were blue eyes on them. He stood holding the sword, his feet planted firmly on the ground as he faced the creatures.
'He's transformed! Katsuro's transformed?! He's a knight?!' She continued to watch these events unfold before her. She suddenly remembered him saying he favored Mars because of her fire powers. Somehow it now made sense. But where was all of this coming from? How can something or someone like this exist besides her and the other guardians. There was nothing in history or even in the future she had seen or had knowledge about other warriors or guardians, or whatever this was.
He then raised the sword up into the air. Energy and flames began forming around the blade, his eyes continuing to glow blue, an aura of fire emanating from his body.
"Now call out your attack. Wield the mighty Phoenix Wave!" The flames in the sky called out to him.
"PHOENIX WAVE!" He called out, grasping the hilt with both hands then slashing the sword downward. A large phoenix made of fire energy rushed out, speeding towards the group of skeletal creatures, the intensity of the heat wiping them out completely as the darkness was burned away.
Katsuro's eyes shot open wide, his breathing erratic. He looked around, seeing his surroundings to figure out where he was. Was that all just some crazy and weird dream? That couldn't have been real. Maybe it was just his body and mind being stressed from the school switching, and of course a monster attack. Yeah, that'll fuck a guy up really bad in the head. Or anyone. He took a deep breath to calm down, but something was off.
This wasn't his room, nothing was familiar to him. Where was he? He struggled to try and remember anything before he blacked out. Rei. He was leaving Rei's. He had turned to talk to her and then…
Something hard was in his hand, which was weird. He never even brought his phone into bed when he slept. So, he couldn't possibly have fallen asleep with that. Or did he, and just not remember it? He pulled his hand out from under the blanket, then to his complete utter surprise, the jewel from his dream. "No…way…" He quietly muttered.
It was all real?! That whole messed up dream with fighting and powers?! How?! And what was the voice talking to him?! So many questions and mysteries. Then there was another mystery, a rag had fallen off his head when he sat up. Now he KNEW he didn't do that. And there wasn't anyone else that possibly could have placed that there.
Rei slowly sat up, rubbing her head in pain as the symbol of Mars disappeared from her forehead. Her thoughts felt hazy as she tried to remember what happened. That strange realm. Katsuro! He was fighting, with powers! She quickly looked to the bed, seeing him sitting up. Their eyes met, locked onto each other as they tried to collect their thoughts. What was she supposed to tell him? 'Oh hey, by the way, somehow I ended up floating around in your subconscious and just saw you transform and fight an army.'? Yeah, right…
"Rei…I…what happened? How did I get here?" He started with small simple questions. He really didn't know what happened after he blacked out.
She coughed to clear her throat, then deeply inhaled while pondering how she was going to put this. "You suddenly had some weird attack and were struggling in pain. You…ended up blacking out. I assume its from the strain on your body from being attacked yesterday. I let everyone know and brought you in to make sure you were alright and looked after." Simple enough for now right? She wasn't sure whether to bring up all that just happened. Hell, she wasn't even sure how to bring something like that up.
"I see…yeah…the attack yesterday. YESTERDAY!? I've been here all night?! I'm so sorry! I must have been such a burden on you…" He felt terrible for someone having to go out of their way for him like that. He had JUST met them and he had caused so much trouble for her.
"No, you weren't at all. I was so worried though. Yes, you seemed to be struggling in your sleep." She gently placed her hand on his arm. Her eyes glanced to the jewel in his hand. That right there, was solid proof that whole ordeal was in fact real and did happen.
"Uhm, yeah…I think I was having some wild, insane nightmare. It was pretty bad, crazy killer clowns…" He lied, glancing away.
"Katsuro…" Her tone was one that indicated she knew there was more and he wasn't telling the truth to her. How the hell was she supposed to start this kind of conversation with him?
School had ended for the others, they had spent the entire day in anticipation of being able to head to Rei's to see if Katsuro's condition had improved. Throughout the day, she had sent them small updates, and then radio silence. No replies. It worried them all.
"I hope Rei and Katsuro are alright. The way she described everything sounded bad." Usagi quietly stated.
"Hey, Rei will be alright. This is Rei we're talking about. She's totally capable of handling herself. As far as Katsuro is concerned, he's in the best possible care with her." Makoto's voice was filled with positivity. She gave a thumbs up and a nod.
"Yes, and I'm sure if anything was going on, she would have sent out a distress call." Ami, as calm and precise as ever smiled gently to Usagi.
"Plus, that temper of hers? Whooooooo. I feel sorry for anyone or anything that falls at the feet of that rampant destruction." Minako jabbed jokingly with a laugh. She was trying to lighten the mood, but honestly? She was just as worried.
"Well, I should get going and get out of your hair." He tried to joke as he stood up to try and leave. He had to figure out what was going on and see if this jewel that appeared in his hand worked like it did in that strange place. As he walked past her, he felt a soft hand grasped onto his wrist sternly. "Huh? What's wrong?" He glanced down at her with curiosity.
She took a deep breath, slowly letting go of him. "This is sorta difficult to talk about. I keep going over different scenarios in my head to try and think of the best way to put this or get this conversation going. But there are some very serious and important things we need to talk about." She turned to him. She could only think of one way to smoothly slide into this issue. It came down to 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours.' kind of situation.
'This feels like a breakup speech…except we aren't dating. What could she be hinting at? It seems so serious. She almost seems like she knows something.' He thought as he gave her his full attention.
"I know what happened to you. In that dream, or realm. Whatever or wherever that was. I saw it, everything."
"W-What?! How? Were you like…in my head?! No, that's completely impossible. There's no way you could have been there. I didn't see or hear you. Just…some voice speaking to me." This was creepy now, how the hell could she have possibly been there when she was, well, here?"
"When I went to touch you, I got knocked back by some strange light. I woke up floating in the air, invisible to you and unable to speak. Like astral projection in a way. I think it has something to do with my spiritual powers that allowed me to do that…well, that and…" She paused. Was she about to tell him who she really was? She didn't know anything about him. What if he told the world?! Or because of who she is, used that to put her and the others in danger? No. She had seen everything she needed to know about him to judge his character and his soul.
"So then…you saw me fighting? You saw that. You saw what I became didn't you?" His voice was more solemn as he gripped the jewel. He hadn't even figured out what this whole thing was himself, and now someone else already knew?
"Katsuro, I'm going to show you something. My biggest secret. I'm trusting you with all my heart and soul with this. Please, don't break this trust. It could hurt not only me, but my friends if this got out." She pleaded; she could feel her body shaking with how nervous she was. She bit her lip with anxiety as she grabbed her crystal.
"Rei." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I swear to you, with my heart and soul. I'll never do anything to cause you harm, to make you sad, to disappoint you, nor would I DARE ever break your trust. You all are my friends now. And I value that more than anything." His voice filled with a kind, and caring tone, but also very certain and sure. It sounded very important to her. And well, he kind of felt something for her. It was a crush as of now, but maybe something that could grow to more?
"I believe you. I don't know how or why, but I feel it in my soul that you're telling me the truth." She stepped back a foot or so. She took a deep breath again. "Here it is. Mars Crystal Power!" Her body began to glow with a beautiful radiant energy. Flames began to surround her, forming rings around her body, her arms, and her legs. Her sailor fuku began to form on her body. Red high heel shoes appeared on her feet, and the symbol for Mars on her forehead shined, forming her tiara. She then struck her signature pose as the transformation cleared.
His eyes shot wide as he fell backwards onto the floor, scooting back against the bed. "Y-Y-Y-YOU'RE SAILOR MARS!?" He exclaimed and pointed at her. His eyes glanced, seeing her ankle and foot that was carefully wrapped by him. That was the proof right there. He knew this was real.
"That's right, I'm Sailor Mars, Katsuro." She gave a sweet and almost caring smile at him. "I can finally say this to you, thank you." She walked to him and kneeled down, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for being so brave in the face of danger like that to protect me in my vulnerable moments. You have no idea how much that gesture meant to me." Her eyes met his.
Sailor Mars was here! Sailor Mars was speaking to him, touching him, THANKING HIM! No, this wasn't just Sailor Mars. This was Rei, they were the same person. This was a lot to take in for him. When their eyes met, his heart pounded against his chest. Wait, that means she heard him talking about her yesterday! So embarrassing! "Hey, look, about what all I said yesterday…I'm sooooo sorry." He apologized.
"Sorry about what?" She cocked her head to the side in confusion. Then remembered him talking about how beautiful she was, and how he spoke about her personality and all the traits he liked about her. "Oh…" She lightly blushed. She then stood up, offered her hand to help him up. As he stood she walked a few steps away. "Alright, you've seen mine. Now let's see yours." She crossed her arms.
Down the hall, her voice did echo a good ways. Which managed to reach four unsuspecting figures, completely unaware of what they were about to walk in on.
Usagi and Minako towards the front of the group turned bright red hearing Rei say that. "Shhhhh, did you hear that?!" Usagi whispered as Minako nodded. Ami and Makoto were right behind, faces as red as tomatoes.
"Are they like, about to…you know…do the nasty? You know? The horizontal monster mash? Bow chica bow wow?" Minako whispered then making that noise quietly.
"Minako! We get it, shut up!" Makoto quietly hissed to her.
Ami had her hand over her eyes, blindly reaching to grab one of the others. "Girls, this is inappropriate, come on. We shouldn't be hearing or seeing any of this! Come on, lets go!" She whispered.
"I have to say…I am really shocked, and excited. Somehow, I kind of expected this though. This is so wild." Katsuro's voice filled with glee almost. "Alright, its only fair I pull mine out for you to see then. Get ready though. I'm definitely going to need some room for this one." His voice filled with anticipation. He had done this in that realm/his subconscious or whatever. This was legit the first transformation he was about to make. "I'm kind of nervous Rei. This is my first time actually." He laughed then took a deep breath. "Ready?"
"Yeah, lets see this thing." She smirked and nodded.
The girls were in the hallway, jaws dropped and frozen completely with how awkward they felt, and honestly, afraid of what they were about to hear or witness. But somehow, they couldn't pull themselves to move away.
"Here it comes! Power of the Phoenix." He held his jewel up above his head. The large phoenix shaped energy dropped down around his body, scanning it as his body formed flames all around it. As the phoenix symbol dropped to the ground, the flames dispersed into embers, revealing his armor.
"Don't you dare ravage our friend you sexual deviant! Rei! You don't have to throw yourself at a guy like this!" Usagi darted into the doorway, thinking someone was about to get it on with one of her close friends. But when she saw both of them standing, transformed, she instantly became petrified in awe.
"Usagi! Stop watching them you pervert!" Makoto and Minako both exclaimed trying to pull her back, then looked up. "Woah…" Makoto quietly spoke. Her entire demeanor just changed instantly.
"Speak for yourselves you two! That's so disrespectful to do to her. Give her privacy and stop staring!" Ami, for once was sterner and more authoritative as if speaking to children. "Oh…my. Rei…? Katsuro…? What's going on?" She questioned.
"You got some splainin to do you two!" Minako pointed to them.