Hi!
Well, I said it might get done today, and it was! As always, PLEASE write me
with whatever you thought about this chapter, okay? Deal!
BTW, as you may have noticed, I'm kind of stuck for a title this time
around. If you have any good ideas, don't keep them to yourselves! ^_^
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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
OBLIGATORY LEGAL DISCLAIMER : None of these guys are mine. The Sailor
Senshi belong to DIC and Kodansha, while the Yoroiden are owned by
Sunrise and Graz Entertainment. Okay? So don't bother suing me. I'm a
student.
RONIN SUMMER 2 : HOMECOMINGS
A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers cross-over
by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@excite.com)
Part 6 :
Ryo Sanada looked up in confusion. "I don't get it! Why
doesn't it WORK?" The crystal globe in his hands stubbornly refused
to become a suit of mystic armour. This was not something most globes
of crystal would be EXPECTED to do, of course, but Ryo had it on the
relatively good authority of Sailor Pluto that this globe should.
After Ami Mizuno smashed his original yoroi, the mysterious
woman named Sailor Pluto had sent a strange champion to deliver him
another exact duplicate of the Rekka armour. This very champion
watched in confusion and shrugged.
"I don't know, Ryo. Susan told me it would work." The girl in
question looked almost exactly like Ami Mizuno, with some few subtle
differences only Ryo seemed to have noticed. Her name was Amy
Anderson, and she was the Sailor Mercury of another, alternate
timeline.
"You mean Setsuna told you it would work." Ami Mizuno said,
walking over and sitting next to her double. When the two sat side by
side like that, it was even easier for Ryo to notice their differences.
Ami was as taller than Amy, but Ami was also a bit older. Amy's hair
was a lighter shade of blue, and Ami's hair was cut slightly shorter.
Still... he blinked and fought the urge to rub his eyes. It
was hard to convince himself he didn't have double vision.
"Yes, Setsuna or Susan or whatever she's called..." Amy shut
up unexpectedly, and smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh, NO!"
"What?" Ami Mizuno was still confused, which was odd. So far,
the two had shown an unerring ability to think along the same exact
lines, and even reach the same conclusions, at the same time.
"My name is Amy Anderson. And YOUR name is Ami Mizuno. Other
than that, we have a lot in common. From what you've told me, it's the
same for everyone else I know." Amy stood up and began pacing.
"Mamoru is named Darien, and vice versa. Makoto is named Lita,
and vice versa. Serena is called Usagi. And so on. That's because
they're not the same people : they're just people with a lot in
common." Pausing in her speech, Amy pointed at the globe in Ryo's hand.
"That," she said,"ISN'T the yoroi of Rekka. It's from MY
timeline. So... maybe it has a different name in that timeline. Maybe
the activation phrase is different!"
Ryo blinked. "Oh, goody. So I miraculously have a replacement
for my yoroi, and it might as well be a paperweight, because nobody
gave me the DAMN MANUAL!"
**********
Touma Hashiba sat at the small wooden table in the kitchen
and poured Makoto Kino a cup of tea. "Those two sure are making a lot
of noise up there... I wonder what they're doing?"
Makoto shrugged. "Who cares? As long as nobody gets hurt, why
should we stick our noses in where they don't belong?"
The communicator in Makoto's purse began to make an insistent
ringing noise. "Speaking of sticking noses in..." Touma muttered as
the brown haired girl pulled out the small calculator shaped
device. "Isn't there any way you can put that thing to sleep? I mean,
first it was Ami interrupting us, and now it's Kami knows who..."
It was, in fact, Minako Aino, and she looked concerned.
"Finally! I've been trying to reach someone for hours! Usagi left her
communicator off, and every time I try to reach Ami there's a weird
echo effect..."
"That's odd. She's here with us at Ryo's cabin. They were
attacked by some..."
"Silver robots? I should have guessed. Have any other Yoroiden
been attacked?" Minako looked worried.
"Yes... Touma and I were-" Makoto cut herself off. "Wait a
minute. What do you mean OTHER Yoroiden?"
"Seiji was attacked a few days ago. A group of these wierd
silver robots came out of nowhere and stole Korin."
"STOLE KORIN?" Touma accidentally squeezed the cup in his
hands until it shattered, splashing hot tea on his hands. "OW! HOT!"
he cursed, and began hopping around waving his hands in the air.
A voice from the communicator began to murmur, interrupting
whatever else Minako had to say. "Hey, is that Touma? Put him on!"
Wordlessly, Makoto passed the communicator to Touma. Touma
hissed and looked down as Seiji Date pushed his face into view on
the screen of the device. "Hey, Touma! If you're so smart, how come
we don't have communicators like these?"
"We don't need them. The Yoroiden share a psychic bond that-"
Seiji scowled. "Psychic bond be damned! I WANT A COOL-ASS
COMMUNICATOR! Did you know these things get the Cartoon Network?"
Touma chuckled. Well, at least Seiji wasn't taking the loss
that hard... "Listen, what's this about you losing Korin? Is there
anything I can do to help?"
"Oh yeah... THAT thing. Not to worry, Touma! I've got the
situation well in hand! We're scoping out the territory and planning
to bust Ryo's dad out as soon as possible. What YOU have to do for me
is get on the horn with this thing and call up the other Senshi."
"You're right. Shuu and Shin are still out there, and they
have no idea those things are after them!"
**********
Shin Mouri smiled down at the crowd of teenagers around him.
Most were his age, and he even recognised someone.
"Hello everybody!" The indoor swimming pool was empty, but Shin
still raised his voice to be heard over the splashing that wasn't
there... yet. "As you all know, this is a course in SCUBA diving. We
might be visiting the ocean in later weeks, but right now we'll be
using the pool because there aren't as many sharks."
Everybody chuckled a little at his deliberately bad joke.
Step number one in teaching, he figured : let them know you're not a
very bad guy. Nobody ever learned their best when they were nervous.
"Now, we're going to do this the only way we can : hop in your
wetsuits, and let's hit the pool!"
The crowd began to disperse, and Shin took advantage of the
confusion to grab one black-haired girl by the elbow. "Hello, Rei."
Rei Hino smiled. "Hi, Shin! I should have guessed the
Yoroiden of Suiko would be teaching a course in diving."
"Well, I'm surprised that Sailor Mars would come within a
million miles of water."
"Don't be! I'm a pretty good swimmer, when I have to be."
**********
Twelve minutes later, Shin was in the water with his nine
students. "Well, here we are. Before we start this, let's all get
introduced, okay?"
A skinny boy with frazzled hair and a perplexed squint started.
"Well, my name is Umino, and this," he pointed to a short red-haired
girl, "is Naru."
"We're diving partners!" Naru added enthusiastically.
"Hi!" The next girl had short black hair. "I'm Akane, and-"
"And she swims so bad, she NEEDS an air tank!" The pig-tailed
girl standing next to Akane chuckled.
"The pig-tailed dolt is Ranko." Akane finished, and scowled.
"Well my name is Tetsuro." The hefty lad laughed good
naturedly. "And this water baby over here..." he gestured to a smaller
boy partially hiding behind him, "...is Sho Fukamachi."
Sho waved shyly. "Hi."
The oldest of the group was next. "Uhm... hello. My name's
Motoki, and I work at the Arcade downtown. This is really kind of a
refresher course for me."
"My name is Rei Hino."
Umino snapped his fingers. "I THOUGHT I recognised you! You're
one of Usagi's friends!"
Naru smiled. "That's right! The one who works at the Shinto
Temple! I bought a charm from you once!"
The last unnamed member of the group cleared her throat.
"My name is Miaka Yuuki. And I think our instructor would like to
begin his lesson."
Shin smiled. "Why thank you, Miaka. The first thing we're
going to do is learn how to read our instruments and check our gear.
Now, this is the MOST important part of SCUBA, gang. Always, and I do
mean ALWAYS, make sure your gear is working properly before you dive.
Twenty feet underwater is what we call a BAD place to find out your
air valve has a leak."
**********
Two hours later, Shin raised his hand for attention. "Okay!
You've all been having some fun and trying out the gear, but I want to
discuss something of importance here."
"What is it, Shin?" Rei asked, flicking a strand of wet hair
behind her.
"An important skill, and one EVERYBODY needs to learn. It's
what we call 'Buddy Breathing', and is one of many reasons why
everybody should swim in pairs." Shin smiled a little. "Rei, would you
care to help me demonstrate? Just come over here and take off your
tank."
"Okay..." Rei slid the heavy metal air tank off of her back
and waded over. "What now?"
"For practice sake, we're going to pretend that Rei and I are
NOT in the shallow end of a swimming pool, we're actually hundreds of
feet underwater. And something just went wrong with Rei's air. Maybe
she has a broken valve, maybe she tore a hose, or maybe for some
reason she lost her rebreather. If she were alone, she'd be fish food
by now, but fortunately, she has a partner." Shin smiled and pointed
to himself. Everbody was looking very serious, and that was good :
this was vital life-saving information. But still...
"Hey Rei, are you paying attention? How can you hear me with
all those coins in your ear?" Shin reached up and apparently drew
three five-yen coins from the girl's right ear. The group began to
loosen up, and Shin felt his grin stretch a little. "That's right, the
hand is quicker than the eye. And in Buddy Breathing, you need quick
hands. As soon as Rei signals distress, I have to start helping her.
So I take a deep breath of my rebreather, like so," he demonstrated,
sucking deeply on the metal mouthpiece, "and, holding my breath, offer
it to her. She does the same, and we share until we can get back to
the surface."
Shin pointed at the group and began breaking them into the
pairs they had been using all day. "Umino and Naru, Ranko and Akane,
Miaka and Motoki, Tetsuro and Sho, and Rei and me. One person in
each group will be the distressed diver, and one person will be the
rescuer. Stay under and buddy breathe for a thirty count, then surface
and do it again. After ten minutes, we'll switch the rescuer and the
distressed diver, and then we'll call it a day, okay?"
**********
After class, Shin was running a comb through his damp hair and
standing out in the hallway, saying good-bye to his class members.
They all seemed rather happy, and Akane in particular was in very good
spirits. "Just remember to book time at the pool and practice what
you've learned, and I'll see you next week!"
Akane waved farewell and walked off with the pig-tailed boy
who had shown up while nobody was looking. "Thanks, Shin! We'll see
you next week!"
Rei walked over to Shin and smiled prettily. "So, Shin... what
are you doing right now?"
"Me?" Shin shrugged. "Not much. I have to meet Shuu over at
his family's restaurant, and then head over to the nearest SCUBA
supply store." He reached into his bag and pulled out a rebreather.
"This rebreather isn't working : I think it might be clogged or
damaged. They're pretty expensive - I'd hate to have to throw one away
needlessly, if it can be repaired."
"That sounds fun," Rei lied easily, "and if I get involved in
SCUBA, I probably should know where the supply stores are." At least
that part was true...
"Well, if you want to come, feel free."
**********
Mamoru Chiba smiled as he blocked his opponent's punch with
ease. "You're getting sloppy, Kujuurou Sasaki!"
The man in question grinned wolfishly and responded with
an axe kick to Mamoru's head. Mamoru's eyes crossed as Kujuurou's heel
came in violent contact with the top of his head, and he sat down
abruptly.
"Today's Lesson," joked the Yoroiden of Yami, "never insult
someone who has four hundred years more experience than you do."
Mamoru groaned and rubbed his head. "Hai, sensei." Slowly, the
man in the tuxedo rose to his feet. Even transformed into Tuxedo
Kamen, he thought to himself, I can barely hold my own against Anubis
in his undergear.
"You're doing quite well, Mamoru Chiba." Anubis smiled and
wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I haven't had this good a workout
since Seiji no Korin and I last dueled!" He had really felt those
last few hits, he noted. At this rate, he might have to start using
his yoroi against Tuxedo Kamen if he wanted to win.
Despite himself, Mamoru smiled at the praise. After being
bedridden for days, fighting with the poison a youma had left in his
system, he had gotten pretty tired of feeling helpless. Fortunately,
his 'nursemaid' had known this and begun training him in order to
build up his strength again.
Now, they had actually begun sparring, and Anubis had even let
him start helping Rei and her Grandfather rebuild their temple. Since
the temple had been destroyed by an army of youma sent to destroy him,
Mamoru felt a little responsible.
"Let's start again, Mamoru." Kujuurou grinned, causing the
cross-shaped scar on his cheek to raise a little. "Go put on your
hat and cape."
Mamoru looked at his new sensei strangely, but did as he was
instructed. "Why? I thought you told me that the hat and cape served
only to restrict my movement and had no valid purpose."
"So they did... at first. Now, we're going to discuss strategy.
And you'll need to learn how to use every part of you to attack your
opponent."
"Nani? What do you mean, sensei?"
Kujuurou shrugged. "I've been watching how you fight, Mamoru
Chiba. You have adequate hand-to-hand skills, better now than before,
but you still rely too much on your cane, and ESPECIALLY your roses."
Mamoru looked confused as he adjusted his mask. "So?"
Kujuurou snorted. "So? So if anything ever lived to fight you
twice, it would kill you. The second you lift your hand, even the
dumbest youja would think : 'Gee, he's going to throw a rose at me.
Better blast him!'. That's so. Face it : Tuxedo Kamen has such a rep
in the demon realms that the minute you show up, you're going to get
your opponent's FULL and undivided attention. Especially if you dress
like THAT."
"Good point. Of course, I WANT to draw their attention, don't
I? I mean, if they're attacking me, then they aren't attacking Usagi."
"True, but if you vary your attacks, then at least they
won't know what to expect from you." Anubis smiled and pointed. "Let's
start with the hat. How heavy is it? Is the brim sharp?"
Mamoru removed the headgear in question and examined it for
the first time. "Yes... the brim is like a razor. Why didn't I ever
notice that before?"
"You weren't paying attention." Anubis grinned. "So, how's
your aim, Tuxedo Kamen?"
"Have YOU ever tried to throw a flower at someone? Roses
aren't exactly aerodynamic."
"Very good. And the next time a youma thinks you're reaching
for a rose, what are you going to do?"
Understanding dawned in Mamoru's eyes. "I'm going to throw my
hat at him."
"See? Five seconds of strategy, and you already have a new
attack to show for it." Kujuurou nodded as he saw the light in
Mamoru's eyes. It was eagerness, and he could tell Mamoru was already
coming up with ways to work his hat into future attacks. Kamis, but
this boy was a GENIUS when it came to fighting!
"Now, let's discuss your roses..."
**********
Shuu Rei Fuan massaged the back of his neck. "So anyway," he
said, continuing his story, "Touma told me he didn't want to work at
the Golden Dragon all summer because he didn't need the money. Then
yesterday he calls me up and says he WILL work there, but not until
next week. What's up with him?"
Rei smiled as she sipped her soda. "He's got a grilfriend."
"OUR Touma? The boy genius? The Living Computer himself?" Shin
stared stupidly at the girl, his plate of rapidly cooling chicken
balls going ignored. "Who would be desperate enough to date HIM?"
Rei laughed and shrugged. "All I know is my friend Makoto gets
a really goofy smile ever time we mention him. Of course, no matter
what we're talking about, she always finds a way to mention him. And
then she sighs in this really disgusting way."
Shuu blinked. "Wow. It sounds like those two are putting the
'ick' back in 'pathetic'."
"Let's be fair," Shin admitted, "we're just jealous because
we're all lonely." The other two nodded resignedly.
"Anyway," Shuu said after an uncomfortable pause, "I'm stuck
working a double shift today because Justin called in sick. If you
want, you can wait, or I can catch up to you two later. The meal's on
the house : Shin's family here. Ja ne!" Throwing a towel back around
his waist, the stocky Chinese boy rushed back into the milling crowd
of the restaurant.
"Poor Shuu. I guess we should go take care of that rebreather
now, before the store closes." Shin quickly turned back to his chicken
balls, which disappeared almost as fast as Rei's chow mein had : the
Fuans were VERY good cooks.
"Yes, I suppose..." Rei looked around desperately. Damn! She
had been hoping she could keep an eye on both Yoroiden at once, in
case they got attacked, but fortunately, reinforcements were en route.
In fact, reinforcements were at the door, getting a table.
the two women glanced over and nodded at Rei. Rei nodded back,
and pointed to Shuu. The Senshi winked and gave her the "okay" sign.
Sighing in relief, Rei turned to Shin.
"Sure! I guess we can go. Just let me finish my soda, okay?"
**********
Shuu whipped out a pen and pad of paper. "Nihao! Welcome to
the Golden Dragon, good sir. And what will you and your girlfriend be
having tonight?"
Haruka looked up and smiled kindly. "Uhm, actually, I'm - "
"Not sure," Michiru interrupted, "what he wants to order yet.
Could you give us another few seconds? Domo." Shuu shrugged in
response and went back into the kitchen to get another order.
Haruka looked over at Michiru and seemed much more upset than
she should be. "Why didn't you let me correct him, Michi? Are you that
ashamed?"
"Never. But if he wants to mistake you for my boyfriend, then
let him." Michiru reached over and took the other girl's hand. "It
just means nobody will be staring at us when I do this..." She leaned
forward to kiss Haruka on the cheek, when a loud explosion echoed
through the restaurant and orange energy crackled out of the kitchen.
"BUSSO, KONGO!"
"Uh-oh... looks like SOMEBODY started the party without us!"
Haruka leapt to her feet. "URANUS PLANET POWER!"
Michiru followed soon after. "NEPTUNE PLANET POWER!" Well, she
thought as she transformed, so much for going a whole day without
people staring at us...
**********
After a few minutes, Rei let her hand find its way into Shin's.
He looked over at her and smiled. It was a lovely time of day, as the
burning heat of the sun rose from the street and battled with the
cool breeze of night. There was a canal next to the street, and the
sound of lapping water pervaded the quiet of the world. The sunset was
just ending, and the velvety curtain of night was marred only by a
thin ribbon of pinkish tinge at the edge of the horizon. It was, they
silently agreed, a great time of night to be walking with a good
friend.
Shin and Rei walked hand in hand, just like any other two
schoolchildren might, and for a few brief minutes they forgot. Forgot
about yoroi, and transformation pens. Forgot about Senshi and Samurai,
forgot about youma and youja. For a few brief minutes they forgot who
they really were, and pretended they were normal.
"So," Shin said slowly, "do you feel like telling me the
REAL reason you've been tailing me? Because unless you've developed a
crush on me over the past day, I'm stumped."
Rei shrugged. She may as well tell him... "The Yoroiden have
been getting attacked lately. Some kind of silver robots. They've
already taken out Seiji and Ryo, and Touma just barely got away. When
I saw you were teaching my SCUBA class, I thought I may as well keep
an eye on you. In case they went after you next."
"Seiji and Ryo are BOTH out of action?" Shin whistled in
amazement. "Well, so much for the Yoroiden : we're boned. Where is
everybody?"
"We don't know where Seiji and Minako are, but Makoto and Touma
are at Ryo's cabin with Ryo and Ami. Usagi said she was going there as
soon as her parents fell asleep."
Shin stopped and thought for a moment. "Well then that's where
we're going, too. If I know Touma, he probably already has a plan for
getting these guys back. We'll just drop off this rebreather in my
pocket, and then we'll swing by the restaurant to pick up Shuu. Why
didn't you just TELL me, Rei? We could be there by now!"
The robot leaping into the middle of the street put a stop to
Rei's excuse. It was large and silver, just like Rei had been warned,
and she quickly pushed Shin behind her. "Stay back! It's after your
yoroi!"
She charged forward, and was rather embarassed when the machine
simply reached out and grabbed her by the neck. Shin was looking back
and forth between Rei and, for some odd reason, the canal. The machine
began to tighten its grip, and Rei gurgled as her last trickle of air
was cut off.
"WAIT!" Shin stepped forward and lifted one hand. Rei could
just barely make him out from the corner of her eye as he reached into
his shirt and pulled out a glowing blue crystal. "THIS is what you
want, right? Let her go, first. Let her go, and I'll give it to you."
The robot paused and seemed to consider. Finally, its steel
fingers released Rei's throat and she dropped sprawling on the street.
"The yoroi?" A distorted voice crackled from speakers in the
mechanical monster's shoulders, and it stretched out the open hand.
Shin cupped the yoroi in both hands, and looked up at the
creature. The blue glow lighting his face made him look almost demoic
as he grinned in a strangely sinister manner.
"You want it?" Something shining flew from his grip, and there
was a loud splash. Shin laughed curtly. "Fish for it."
The robot would have glared at him, if it had the necessary
emotions (and facial features). For a long moment, its controller
debated between going after the yoroi and incinerating the boy. The
yoroi won, and the machines leapt over the short chain link fence and
dove into the water.
Shin sagged with relief and ran over to Rei, grabbing her by
the elbow. "Come ON, Sailor Mars! I don't think they'll be very happy
when they get back up here..."
"Shin..." Rei coughed and rubbed her throat. From now on, she
vowed, she was ALWAYS going to transform before tackling these
things... "How could you? You GAVE them your yoroi?"
Shin Mouri began to giggle. "Sure I did... just like I pulled
fifteen yen out of your ear this morning." Pulling his left hand out
of his jacket pocket, he showed her the gleaming blue yoroi.
"The hand is quicker than the eye, remember?" Shin's eyes
sparkledwith amusement as he looked at Rei. "Those robot things are
going through a lot of trouble for a slightly used SCUBA rebreather."
Rei chuckled despite herself. "You know what? Those robots
AREN'T going to be very happy when they get back here are they?"
"This would be why I suggest a rapid retreat." Shin cast a
worried glance behind him. "Ryo's cabin, you said?"
Rei nodded. "Ryo's cabin. Do you know where it is?"
Shin shrugged and tilted his head to one side as they ran.
"Well, not exactly... but under the circumstances I'm damn well willing
to find out!"
TO BE CONTINUED...