Chapter 2: Four new girls appear! Who are these new scouts?
“No way!”
The Sailor Senshi were gathered around a short table in the Cherry Hill Temple during their current Sailor Meeting, in which Usagi told them of the four new senshi and the mysterious girl in the alleyway. Even Setsuna’s face faulted slightly and looked puzzled, whereas Chibi-Usa and Hotaru, both now sixteen, exchanged glances of utter astonishment.
Usagi shook her head. “No, I’m not kidding… there are four new scouts! They just walked out of the trees at the park the other day, then I saw them in that alleyway battling some other girl. Who would’ve thought that more senshi were around?”
Ami sucked on the end of her pen thoughtfully. Even she, smartest of the senshi, couldn’t think of anything to make of this. She looked up finally and met Usagi’s sky-blue eyes with her own sapphire ones. “Are you sure they weren’t Animates?”
Usagi nodded. “None of them were wearing bracelets. Besides, they were all wearing the same basic type of fuku… maybe a new team altogether?”
Michiru shifted nervously in Haruka’s arms. “Do you think they’re here do destroy us? I mean, aside from the Animates, we haven’t met another group of senshi before.”
Makoto blinked and looked towards Michiru. “We can’t really know what they’re here for unless we talk to them face to face. They seem to know Japanese, or rather; the tall girl with the black hair does, like Usagi-chan says. Did you try to talk to them Usagi-chan?”
Usagi nodded irritably. “I tried after that girl disappeared from the alleyway, but they all jumped away. They did the same thing in the park.”
Artemis finally sighed and looked up at the surrounding senshi. “Maybe we should just save this for the next meeting. You girls should be going anyway… school is starting soon!” He added, looking towards Chibi-Usa and Hotaru.
Hotaru sighed. “Fine, fine Artemis. We won’t be late this time, promise!”
--
Chibi-Usa and Hotaru skirted into their homeroom just as the bell had stopped ringing, the chime still sounding through the halls. They panted and collapsed in their desks, lucky for not have been late again. Their teacher had yet to walk into the room, for which they were grateful, but they also found that very strange.
Chibi-Usa looked around, spotting four empty desks. “Looks like we’re getting new students, ne, Hotaru-chan?”
Hotaru nodded. “Seems so. I wonder what they’re like?” She turned back to the frount, thinking.
Hotaru’s thoughts were interrupted by the teacher, Ms. Fushigi, walking into the room with four students lined up behind her. She set her papers on her desk as she usually did, then turned to the class.
“Class,” she started. “I would like you to welcome four new students, who are transfers from Mitsuki Junior High.” She waved her hand to the four girls beside her. “In order… Masurao Eitai,” a girl with blonde, silver-tipped hair bowed, “Omoukawa Michishirube,” the girl next to her, with blue gold-tipped hair in two looped braids bowed, “Shinmamoru Chiba,” the shortest girl, with bronze-tipped light brown hair bowed, “and Hime Kazeno,” the final girl, whom was taller then the rest, bowed last, her black copper-tipped hair pulled back into an insanely long braid. “Girls, would you please take your seats?”
The four new students moved silently towards the new desks that had been laid out for them. Each girl slipped into their desk quietly and laid their bags next to the seat, then turned back to the frount of the class. The teacher tapped her desk loudly to quiet down the class, and started the regular, boring day of school.
--
Hotaru and Chibi-Usa walked home later that day, with JunJun, VesVes, PallaPalla, and CereCere tagging along and chatting merrily. They were in different classes from Hotaru and Chibi-Usa, with their being slightly older, but still acted childish and innocent, despite they’re being senshi and former villains. Chibi-Usa turned to them and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could do so a girl with dull silver hair and deep blue eyes ran past, pushing the group apart. Chibi-Usa fell hard onto the pavement, and stared after the girl angrily.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” she yelled, but the girl was already gone.
JunJun helped her up. “Who do you think that was?”
PallaPalla shrugged. “I saw her earlier in the courtyard, but she looks way to old to be going to our school. She looks like she’d be a teacher!”
Hotaru looked around a bit then lowered her voice. “Do you think she has anything to do with those four new senshi, by chance?”
VesVes stared at her blankly. “The only way we can really know is if we see her with them. Otherwise, we’ll have no idea!”
Omoukawa Michishirube passed at that point, walking alone while looking at the sky. She sighed heavily as the six senshi looked after her, then Hotaru got an idea.
“You guys go ahead… I’ll see you later!” she yelled, and then ran over to Michishirube. Chibi-Usa and the Quartet exchanged glances but walked the other way.
Hotaru bumped into Michishirube lightly, which caught her attention and caused her to look down in surprise. Her light orange eyes met Hotaru’s violet ones, and Hotaru smiled up to her. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’ve been so clumsy today.”
Michishirube smiled lightly. “Think nothing of it,” she said. Her voice was singsong like but had a trace of deeper power. “I was just thinking about class today…” her voice trailed off, then she offered Hotaru her hand. “Omoukawa Michishirube.” She said. “You can call me Michi.”
Hotaru took her hand. “Tomoe Hotaru. Very pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise,” she said, then drew her hand away from Hotaru’s suddenly. “Those your friends back there?”
Hotaru looked back to where Chibi-Usa and the Quartet had been. “Yes. It looks like they’ve decided to go along without me though, doesn’t it?”
Michi looked back as well. “It seems. Shall I see you later, Hotaru-ko?” She asked.
Hotaru was on the verge of a shrug but decided against it. “I guess so, Michi-san. Good-bye!” she said, but when she turned back to see where Michi was, she was gone.
--
Michishirube walked silently towards a more rural part of Tokyo, away from the hustle and bustle of the main city. The streets started to thin out until she was the only person walking down a lonely, cracked road. The sun was burning large and low in the sky, the oranges blending with the blues and pinks of the sunset, peeking behind the tall glass buildings that made up downtown Tokyo. Cherry blossoms skirted along the road and around her feet and legs as she walked briskly even farther from Tokyo’s heart.
She stopped suddenly, and looked up to an old, abandoned-looking house. Shutters and shingles once brisk and new had either been taken off by the hand of time or become warped with water-damage and the burning hand of the sun. The stairs creaked under her feet as she climbed to the deck, their own wood starting to disintegrate. The deck was old and ragged, floorboards warped and riddled with moss and holes of all sorts. She reached the door and turned the old rusted handle, opening to a world that could not have been.
Inside, the house was clean and sparkling, everything new and unused. The stairway to the second story was solid and ready for human feet, the oak banister ready for human hands. She closed the door behind her, now a beautiful solid mahogany wood door, and began to look around.
“Eriyn, Terra, Melai… I’m home!” she yelled, hoping for a response.
Masurao Eitai walked out of the kitchen a moment later, holding a bowl of steamed rice in one hand and chopsticks in the other. “Hey Nerei.”
Michi turned to her. “Eriyn, where are Terra and Melai?”
Eitai shrugged. “Out on patrol, I guess. Probably looking for Hecate now that it’s sunset. She’ll be out on the prowl, you know.”
Michi sighed heavily again. “I guess we should go join them then?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but instead pulled a shining blue, diamond-shaped broach with two gold wings coming from the middle, and threw above her head, where it spun in place. “Power of Poseidon…” she said, her voice towering, “Revive Me!”
Suddenly, she was engulfed in a bright blue light as a giant crack opened in the ground below her. A tsunami gushed out of the crack and crashed right into Michi, then becoming a cyclone upon touching her. A pair of giant golden wings appeared and snapped shut, causing the cyclone to dissipate and make a cocoon around Michi, then burst apart themselves. The blue light subsided and a pair of heels clicks back to the earth.
Michishirube stood there, glowing with power but not quite herself. She had become Sailor WaterAngel, avatar of Poseidon and keeper of the seas. Her light orange eyes narrowed at Eitai and she crossed her arms. “Well Eriyn, what are you waiting for?”
Eitai sighed and placed her rice on the counter behind her. She took a red diamond-shaped broach with a pair of silver wings out of her pocket and threw it in frount of her, where it spun in place. “Power of Ares… Revive Me!”
She held her hands out in frount of her, right behind the broach, and flame started to creep up her arms and surround her entire body. A giant pair of silver wings appeared and she spun around once, the wings covering her entirely as the fire-creature she had become. The wings disappeared and in a rush of silver feathers and fire-stars bursting apart, she landed back onto the ground with a click of her own heels.
“Fine then, WaterAngel,” she said. “Let’s go.”
--
“There she is!”
WindAngel jumped down onto the deserted Tokyo street, her long black copper-tipped hair flowing gently in the wind. She landed silently, the jumped up again and ran towards a figure in a deep red fuku in the dark. She heard a scream followed by a bright flash of light as a scroll issued from the victim’s chest. The man screamed again, then fell still, his scream ringing in the darkness of the night.
WindAngel jumped up again, then brought her arm back, her light gray and copper boomerang clutched tightly. She threw it forward with amazing speed, and it flew stunningly fast towards it’s target. The boomerang hit it’s mark with a curse from its target and an object flew high in the air. The boomerang flew back to WindAngel, and she jumped up again to snatch whatever she had hit.
She wasn’t the only one going for it. The deep red figure on the ground noticed it too and jumped high for it, reaching out a single black-gloved hand to grab it before WindAngel did. WindAngel was almost there, but the red woman was closer…
Another white-gloved hand grabbed the scroll, and then slammed a giant brazen hammer down unto the figure’s head. She moaned with pain then fell back to the ground, her deep red hair flowing behind her. Her bright red eyes opened in surprise at the arrival of EarthAngel.
EarthAngel landed haphazardly, her brazen heels making no sound. She turned to the blue, gray and black clad senshi and smiled coldly.
“Looks like you didn’t get the little scroll, did you, Nyx?” she asked coolly.
Sailor Nyx looked up to the earth senshi, her face contorted with fury. Her dull silver hair flowed over her shoulders like antiqued platinum. “Give that back, Terra, or you will regret it.”
EarthAngel laughed coldly to her fallen enemy. “You forgot one thing, Hecate, we’re more powerful then when you were last sealed. You remember that, don’t you?”
“I think she does.” Said a singsong voice in the dark, and a blue-clad senshi landed gracefully next to EarthAngel.
“We sure do!” Said another voice, a leader, and a red-clad senshi landed next to WindAngel.
Nyx’s face faulted slightly, but she got up and a shining blade appeared in her hand. “Give me the scroll, Terra…”
--
Hotaru was running home, suddenly realizing that it was dark out and that the other Outers would probably be mad at her for being out so late. ‘How was I supposed to know what time it was?’ she thought. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clock at the arcade…’
She turned a corner onto a deserted downtown Tokyo street and ran madly. A glint of light caught her eye, but it was only a coin on the ground reflecting the moon’s light. Another light caught her eye, but it was red this time, accompanied by a yell.
“Ares Flame Arrow!” rang a voice in the dark.
Hotaru stopped abruptly, reaching for her transformation pen nestled in her pocket. Another flash of light, green this time, and another yell.
“Gaea Vines Entangle!”
Hotaru raised her transformation pen above her head, and a yell issued from her powerful and strong. “Saturn Crystal Power, Make-Up!”
Sailor Star Saturn appeared where Tomoe Hotaru had stood, her Silence Glaive clutched tightly in her white-gloved hand. She poised it behind her and ran, ran towards the source of the senshi’s attacks.
She found herself on another deserted street soon enough, five figures moving around in the darkness. She rushed forward, her glaive poised high, as the five figures came into view.
Four of them were dressed in the same type of senshi fuku, adorned with red, blue, green, or light gray details in their fuku. Another senshi, dressed in black and deep blue, was preparing an attack when she spotted StarSaturn.
“Nyx Darkness Engulf!” she yelled, swinging her blade down over her head.
StarSaturn’s eyes opened wide as the attack blazed for her. She raised her glaive in frount of her stunningly quick. “Silence Wall!” she yelled. The dark attack ricocheted off of her shield harmlessly and flew back to its originator. The dark senshi jumped out of the way and flew towards one of the other senshi, dressed in green, who was holding a hammer and some sort of scroll.
The green-clad senshi swung her hammer around and brought it down upon her attackers head, but the dark-clad senshi was ready for her. She grabbed the brazen hammer and threw it aside, reaching greedily for the scroll. The two senshi fell back to the ground, still wrestling for control of the scroll.
“Silence Glaive Surprise!” StarSaturn yelled, hoping to hit the dark senshi and leave the green-clad girl unscathed.
The attack hit both of them and the scroll nearly disintegrated. The green-clad girl clenched her teeth tightly as a thin, white scar appeared across her face. She touched it gingerly and got up, the other senshi re-gaining her balance as well. The four-team senshi rushed over to her as she did so and each placed a hand on her, chanting. The dark senshi started to glow and she screamed, jumping away into the night. She disappeared into the darkness like a shadow, the green-clad senshi cursing, the scroll lay in her hand forgotten.
The senshi next to her, dressed in light gray, took the scroll and walked over to the man. StarSaturn watched, amazed, as she chanted lightly and with a bright flash of light, the scroll was gone and the colour was back in the man’s face. He stood up, blinking several times, then walked away, casting a weary glance back to the five senshi on the street. StarSaturn looked back to them, and opened her mouth to speak when they all started jumping away into the night.
“Wait!” she said. She ran towards the four senshi needlessly.
Only one senshi remained on the ground as she reached her, dressed in blue and holding a trident. She met StarSaturn’s violet eyes with her own light orange ones, and then flew away like an angel in the dark.