Part 1: Orsus
Section 1: Adaption
Chapter 8-Meiousei Meikyuu/First Fight
Her dark green hair trailed out quite a few yards behind her as she hurried along, and Setsuna noticed Luna eyeing her long hair. "I think we'll need to get you a haircut after this battle, Setsuna," she said softly as they piled into the Lunar mobiles.
"Hai," she agreed equally quietly.
Then Luna turned around to address all the girls. "Listen well, minna. You are to be _very_ careful in this battle. Since all your guardians are not able to come with us, we have assigned each of you a group of soldiers. Make sure to stay with them and obey their orders. Do not attempt to transform. Do not attempt to use any powers. You should avoid coming into any contact with youma, because some of them may have acidic skin."
Next to her, Phobos nodded in agreement and shifted uncomfortably. Artemis and Deimos had been away from the Moon Palace and would most likely be detained for a while yet. She didn't feel comfortable without her twin or the co-commander of the guardians. Fujiro and Kyuusho were also away from the Moon, currently on an ambassadorial visit to Venus, and that left the guardians coming along four short. They numbered six all together: Phobos, Luna, Aoao, Koori, Soyakaze, and Kaiiki. She hoped that this fight would not be the first and last for her charges. In a harsher voice than she meant to, she ordered, "I don't want to see any of you doing something as foolish as attempting to take on any youma by yourselves. Always be on guard, and never sheathe your weapons until we tell you to. Is that understood?"
"Hai, Phobos-sensei," Rei whispered. Her hand drifted rather nervously to her broadsword.
Next to her, the golden-haired girl also touched her rapier–besides Haruka, she was the only one who was even willing to use one, much less being proficient at it. Rapiers were difficult to use, having extremely thin blades–two blades. None of the other girls wanted to use a double-bladed weapon, and Minako knew the risks very well. After she had gotten numerous accidental cuts during her first few months of training, she had finally figured out how to disable her enemy without losing a few pints of blood in the process.
The Lunar mobiles stopped at the edge of a smoking, cratered village, and they had to suppress the urge to vomit at the smell of cooked meat. Human meat. Setsuna hopped out first, staff held in readiness. She was the only one using a main weapon that wasn't bladed–but she was deadly with her staff. The soldier that walked over to her was a middle-aged man, solidly built with an detached air and imperturbable face. Nodding to him respectfully, she asked calmly, "How many of your men will you assign to cover our backs?"
He looked her over, judging silently, until he nodded his approval. "Fifteen good fighters. The others go in the village with us, Meiousei-sama."
She looked slightly startled at her title before she inclined her head and followed him wordlessly. The others and the rest of his men fell into step behind.
Soon, Minako came up to her and whispered something in her ear. Setsuna stopped and said, "Koori-san. Please take Dosei-sama and find any survivors in the ruins we've covered. You know the signal if you happen to find any youma."
"Hai, Meiousei-sama." The girls were even more shocked to see Koori obeying a girl many years younger and to see that Minako was giving orders. Most of the soldiers were used to strangeness of all kinds and kept their faces void of emotion, although some of the younger men and women were openly staring. Perhaps the reign of this particular generation of senshi was truly beginning...but Setsuna reminded herself that they still had to overcome their personal journeys–and the senshi initiation–and that in the past, some who were not totally pure of heart...had not survived the test.
~~~~*~~~~
They had come with ninety-five soldiers: fifteen had stayed with the Lunar mobiles at the entrance to the village, if it could be called that any more, and ten went with each senshi pair.
Hotaru pressed her hand against the dirty, soot-streaked wall of one remaining building. Her other hand brushed the hair out of her face, for dark strands hand come free of the ponytail she had put it up into. Her previously-white clothes were streaked with black ashes, brown dirt, and scarlet blood slowly crusting to a darker shade. She had already resisted the urge to throw up many times from the stink and from the peoples' wounds, dead or alive, but she knew this time that she had to give in to the inevitable. The best thing to do was to get it over with and go back so she could help Koori and the other soldiers. Most of them had healers' magic, for Setsuna had explained to the commander in quiet undertones that Dosei-sama was a healer. These men and women were the ones who also had similar powers or the ones that would be the best defense. Once she was finished getting rid of her breakfast, Hotaru wiped the sweat off her face and hurried back to Koori and the hurt.
What she wasn't expecting to see was a circle of around ten creatures around the mobiles where the wounded were gathered. She gathered her courage and drew her saber, known as the Pu Saber. It suited her perfectly, being extremely light and usually used in combat by common foot soldiers–it didn't bother her. She didn't want to trifle with the fancy things. A youma had noticed her and drawn away from its fellows, and Hotaru saw Koori stabbing at another. As the youma came towards her, smiling wickedly, she suddenly knew what to do and let her mind take over. Duck whatever it was hurling at her, throw herself to one side, then lash out and try to send it crashing down. Luckily, her maneuver had worked, a tricky piece of footwork that Makoto had worked with her on perfecting.
She thanked her lucky stars and was about to bring her saber down upon it and stopped an inch away from its face, and the youma let out a strangled shriek. Whether it was of distress or victory, she didn't know, but Hotaru knew one thing: she could not go through with this killing. In the next moment, she saw a glow of fierce blue power surround the youma as it lunged up towards her, and she closed her eyes. The blood splashed over her, burning sharply over the parts of her that were exposed, but her mind had gone so numb that she could not feel it. She was a healer, not a killer. What was she going to do? What was she going to do? Her question repeated itself over and over in her mind, and she both heard and couldn't hear Koori's soothing voice, the wet cloth wiping away the blood. She had failed being a senshi...but she had nearly failed herself.
~~~~*~~~~
Minako glanced over nervously at Rei. They were best friends...and yet...sometimes, she wasn't sure if Rei didn't live alone in her own world. It was a little hard to talk to her at times. Ignoring the strange prickling feeling at the back of her neck, she was grateful when the raven-haired girl laid her free hand on her arm gently. "Dajibou?"
"Hai, dajibou," she replied, but she kept looking around. There was something so unsettling about this part of the village. It was near the woods. She was trying to avoid looking at the dead, but she needed to see something. It was something that needed to be both seen and felt.
Phobos, who had come with them, was also scowling about something. "Kingusari? Dajibou?"
"I'm fine!! It's just...there's this tingling on my spine, and I'm feeling cold. I can't really explain."
Without saying anything, the red-haired woman's expression darkened further, and she turned to the other girl. "Kasei? What do _you_ feel?"
"The...the same way...but my sense is overshadowed by the youma here. I can't tell how close they are."
"That's right. We haven't specified your senses yet. We'll have to do that immediately, once we get to the palace."
Wiping her hand on the cloth of her skirt and watching the soldiers investigate a nearby building, the blonde asked, "Is everything okay, Phobos?"
"Iie. This is more than just normal youma. Youma aren't very powerful beings. Remember, there are daimons and other things above them, not to mention higher-ranking officials of the Dark Kingdom." Pacing nervously, Phobos muttered, "Serenity-sama, what were you thinking? I knew it was too early to send the girls out on something like this, with all the rumors of a dark influence on Earth. Damn Metallia."
Defensively, Rei said, "We aren't _that_ inexperienced. And besides, we'll need to have our first fight sometime."
As if heralded by her words, a horde of youma suddenly came swarming out of the building the eighteen out of the twenty soldiers had gone into. As Minako watched, standing rooted to the spot, she realized two things: a youma had leapt at them and knocked Phobos to the ground, and the two guards that had stayed with them was dead–ambushed, most likely. She shuddered as she brought up her rapier, then cleaved an appendage off the youma that was on top of Phobos.
Swinging around to make sure no youma were at her back, she shouted, "Kasei!!" The other girl was kneeling on the ground, shaking. She was more sensitive to the dark presence of youma than any of the others, and it crippled her. Minako rushed over to her and pulled her to her feet, shaking her gently. "Rei-chan. We need your help." Both girls were suddenly shoved out of the way by Phobos, who took the brunt of another youma's attack.
Lying on the hard ground, Rei finally reawakened as able to shake off most of the influence the closeness of the youma had on her. She pulled Minako up this time, a blazing fury in her deep purple eyes.
A rage had come over her, and the blond-haired girl could only watch in shock as she helped Phobos up into a sitting position. "Phobos-sensei? Dajibou?"
"Minako...onegai...help Rei."
"I–I don't think she needs any more help," Minako whispered, closing her eyes as she watched the black-haired girl whirling around, dispatching the last youma with a quick cut. There was something about this mindless killing that startled her. She knew Rei would never have been quick to do such a thing; she had been one who was hesitant to use a cooking knife to chop vegetables when they had helped Makoto.
The guardian was about to get to her own feet, despite her injuries, when a new group of youma came upon them from the surrounding forest. The soldiers that had gone in the building must be dead, Phobos was in no condition to fight, and she could tell that Minako was too frightened, having watched Rei. She knew that it was almost all up to Rei, and she knew what happened when a Chosen one who had not yet been able to transform was forced into a situation like this one. She half hoped it would happen, and another half hoped it wouldn't.
But it did: Rei, upon seeing the fresh invaders, began glowing a sparkling purple, and her aura appeared around her. She drew forth her heinshin pen and intoned softly, "Mars Power, Make Up!" A fireball, burning brighter and hotter than any human could withstand, came out of nowhere to engulf its mistress.
A few seconds later, Rei reappeared, hair like fire swirling around her darkly. Her purple eyes had changed to fiery, bottomless red, and she as dressed in a senshi fuku with red collar and skirt, purple bows, and red high-heeled shoes. At her throat was a plain red collar, and across her forehead stretched a tiara without a stone. White gloves reached up to her elbows, ending in three crimson bands. "Mars Fire Ignite!"
And the youma did, indeed, ignite as one together. Phobos drew Minako to her, who was sobbing, and watched with sad eyes as Rei powered down and looked down at them with equal sorrow and fright in her eyes.
~~~~*~~~~
Haruka and Soyakaze strode purposefully ahead while Ami trailed behind. It was not out of hesitation: rather, she was looking between the buildings, scanning each crevice carefully. The soldier next to her followed suit, a burly man with gray hair and of few words. She frowned as a blur of color caught her eye. Was it a trick of the light or–? Before she could look again, the highest-ranking officer in their little group of ten came puffing up to them.
"There's a building still standing in the middle of town, near the fountain. I think most of these vermin are massed there. Should we take the bait and storm in? Wait for the commander and more back-up? Twenty isn't the most favorable number, and I don't like the looks of it."
"No." The two men turned to look at her in surprise, and Ami ignored her own shock at her outspokenness. "There may be people still alive there, whether they be hostages or too afraid to come out."
"Suisei-sama, I understand your concern, demo–"
"Do as she says."
The blue-haired girl glared at the retreating backs of the men. Why would they listen to Soyakaze and not her? It didn't really matter that much if she was only ten... Haruka just patted her shoulder and urged, "Come on. We're already behind them, and we don't want to get left behind."
She nodded silently and followed them. If she was nothing but extra baggage in this expedition, she would rather have gone with Koori and Hotaru. There was nothing but quiet in this part of the village. There weren't even any humans–or remains of humans. Just skeleton buildings and some evidence of life having flourished here once. Halfway up the stairs, she stopped and let the soldier behind her bump into her. Her voice caught in her throat the first time, and she tried to speak again. "M-matte. Matte!! The door–footsteps!" Ignoring the men's curses, she found herself rudely pushed aside as they thundered down the stairs. "Matte! There's a greater advantage if you let them attack us now–" But they had already gone.
The blond-haired girl stayed, royal blue eyes narrowed as she watched the direction in which they had left. "Just wait."
"Hai." She closed her eyes as she heard screams, those of men and youma alike. "Haruka..."
"Stay here," Soyakaze commanded, in front of both girls near the bottom of the staircase.
Within seconds, a horde of youma came storming at them. Their leader was clearly the largest creature in the front, holding a humongous axe, and steel glinted off light in a cutting reflection. Eerie battle cries and shrieks of the youma filled the room, and they were surprised the roof didn't come off at such high-pitched voices.
Haruka pushed the younger girl behind her as she rushed forward beside her guardian. Her broadsword felt comfortable and ready in her hand, and there was something natural in this heady feeling of rushing into battle. It both frightened and reassured her, and she had to ignore it to fight properly. The youma were tricky adversaries: not exactly intelligent, but they had the advantage of greater numbers and dark powers that actually worked–unlike her and Ami's senshi powers. She had been about to finish off another one of the enemy, which appeared to have been only slightly inconvenienced by the twenty soldiers they had undoubtably gotten rid of, when a familiar scream alerted her. She spun around quickly and cursed when she felt sharp claws dig into the bared skin of her shoulder.
Meanwhile, at the top of the stairs, an even larger youma than the other leader stood holding Ami, and she was trying to stab it with her dagger, saber lying abandoned on the stairs. The blond-haired girl cast a desperate look at her guardian, but Soyakaze couldn't even turn to see the danger; she was busy grappling with the youma leader. She wrenched herself away from her captor's cruel talons and leapt up the stars, but she was deathly afraid that she would be too late...for she saw the end of the blue-haired girl written in the youma's eyes. And suddenly, old words came to mind...words she had been forbidden to try...but words that were the only choice. "Uranus Power, Make Up!"
She then found herself holding a golden ball so bright that it hurt her eyes to look at it. The globe had rings around it, and she suddenly realized what it was: her planet. Miraculously, she knew what to with it, and hurled it deep into ground towards the youma, crying, "Uranus World Shaking!!" There was a world-shaking explosion that followed, and the last thing Haruka saw was the youma dropping Ami and turning to ashes from the bright strength of her attack. She hit the wall hard, thrown backwards by the discharge of power, power that was rebounding and surrounding the remaining youma around Soyakaze...
~~~~*~~~~
Another group contained another twenty soldiers, Michiru, Makoto, Kaiiki, and Aoao. The guardians were conversing quietly out of the earshot of their respective charges with furrowed brows and agitated hand motions, barely keeping their attention on their task. The leader of their little squadron called an abrupt halt, hearing noises ahead, and signaled them all to scatter behind any remains of the buildings that could provide shelter. Michiru and Makoto stood upright in the shadow of a barely-standing wall, careful not to lean too heavily on it. Kaiiki crouched nearby, while Aoao shared a larger refuge with two other soldiers.
A massing of around thirty youma patrolled the wide path where they had been walking, none of them particularly watchful. The only one who appeared to be on guard was a green-skinned, white-faced one nearing the back of the crowd that kept twisting its head and looking between the buildings watchfully. The two girls held their breaths as his beady gaze swept over their hiding place, hearing their blood pound loudly in their ears. When one of its fellows broke its concentration by shoving it and snorting in derision, they gave sighs of relief as it pushed the other back and reached out to scratch it with long, knife-tipped fingers–appearing to have forgotten about them. Michiru let out a startled gasp when the original youma raked its companion brutally down the front, startled by the base ferocity and savagery that seemed to be an inherent part of the Dark Kingdom and its society. The brunette next to her was equally shocked, evidenced by her wide green eyes, but she retained enough control over herself not to let out any sound.
The crowd of youma left soon, with many other similar acts of violence, the squad commander gave the all-clear sign and proposed a plan to surround the youma and pick them off. Using a hastily-procured stick, he drew patterns in the dirt as he split them into groups of twelve.
The first group of twelve, including Makoto and Aoao, would move forward as quickly as possible and get in front of the youma, forming an arc to charge at them from the front. While they were distracted, the other twelve would be following sneakily from behind. When the opportune moment of distraction came, they would dart forth and pen the youma in. After making sure there were no questions about the plan, the commander, nine soldiers, Aoao, and Makoto melted into the distance, running as fast and as soundless as they could, parallel to the route of the youma. Michiru, Kaiiki, and the other ten soldiers began their pursuit of the youma from behind, making sure to keep their distance, silence, and weapons in readiness.
Soon she heard the sounds of battle ahead and gulped nervously. Still, the woman in charge of their group did not give the command to move ahead, and Michiru suddenly realized a little of what it must be like to be a leader, any leader.
A commander always second-guessed themselves, had to think within the frames of what was best for a group–always people besides themselves–and give orders that might kill some people but leave more alive...for which side? But besides that, the certain people in the world that were natural leaders always had to fight an internal battle that very few others understood. And if anything went wrong, all the weight of punishment, be it by higher-ranking officer, queen, public, themselves, or death, the weight of the punishment fell on the commanders.
The aqua-haired girl shivered slightly, trying to keep her eyes away from the shining edge of her blade. She was eternally grateful that she was not Minako nor meant to be a leader, that Kaiousei-sama was not destined to be a leader–that she, Unabara Michiru, Kaiousei Uzushio, would never be put in the position of being a leader. Finally, the woman give the signal for them to move forth and fall upon the enemy, which Michiru did reluctantly.
Rushing at a nearby youma, she was taken aback by the inconceivable roar of battle raging all around her. The sounds crashed upon one another to blend into an unbearable cacophony. The youma came towards her and she towards it, and its blade met hers in a thundering crash. More crashing. Michiru twisted her sword away like a fluid snake, parrying another cut made by the monster.
And yet, was it a monster? The old question always arose: were all inhabitants of the Dark Kingdom evil? As she asked this question of herself, the youma noticed her preoccupation and took its golden opportunity, slashing frantically at her. She cried out, the scream another addition to the deafening tempest in her ears, and she fell to the ground holding her shoulder with her free hand. The youma came down upon her again, and Michiru closed her eyes and raised her sword instinctively in front of her, barely getting it up in time. And then...and then...a horrible feeling emanated through the saber, reaching her arms, and she let her weapon fall, feeling blood all over her. Her hands were doused in it, slimy and perverted. All she wanted to do was never open her eyes. She couldn't care less if she died–then, in death, she probably wouldn't have to feel the thick liquid over her hands, oozing from the slice that went from her right shoulder to the middle of her chest.
"Michiru. Michiru!! Please, open your eyes. Dajibou??"
"Iie," she whispered, identifying Makoto's concerned voice.
The brunette girl knelt beside her, sheathing her sword quickly. She barely glanced at the youma which had Uzushio's saber sticking out of its chest. "Michiru, dajibou? What's wrong?"
She would have laughed if she had the strength. "I have blood on my hands, Hana. And I don't know if it's mine or the youma's...and I really don't want to know–or see." She felt gentle hands brush away the hair from her face, then the other's startled exclamation as she saw the rip in the girl's previously white clothing. She heard the ripping of cloth as Hitohana ripped off some cloth, presumably from her own clothing, and used it to stop the flow of blood. Next, she heard the shifting of clothing and joints beside her and reached out blindly. It was her turn to plead. "Onegai, don't leave me. I won't die, will I?"
"No, of course not. Don't be silly."
"If I'm not going to die, I don't want to be alone."
"Then I won't leave you," Hitohana pointed out practically, although she was extremely concerned for her friend. She grasped the questing hand and held it tightly.
Michiru felt strong but slender arms left her up off the ground, still clutching her friend's hand. "Kaiiki? Aoao?"
"Iie, Michiru-chan. It's me, Luna."
Feeling helpless, the brown-haired added, "Setsuna's here, too."
She merely nodded silently, still keeping her eyes closed as Luna poured a stinging cleanser over her cut. "Is everyone okay?"
"I don't know yet. You're the first ones we've come upon. Michiru, open your eyes. You need to be able to walk back to the Lunar mobiles." Setsuna hated sounding so harsh, and she could feel Makoto and even the guardians' eyes on her.
As she walked away, the other girl followed her orders and opened her eyes slowly. Immediately, she looked away from her hands and into deep green eyes. And in that instant, as sea green met forest green, Michiru and Makoto knew that they had seen the same thing, taken it two different ways because of the contrasts in their personalities...and come up with the same conclusion. They understood what the other did as well.
~~~~*~~~~
Setsuna sighed deeply from her seat in the Lunar mobile. More than half the soldiers were dead, she had two newly-transformed senshi on her hands, all of them had gained injuries, some more serious than others, and _all_ of them would need healing–physically, mentally, emotionally. She only hoped it was possible to heal the trauma from their first battle...a battle none of them had expected to be this way.
Caelum
