Part Eight : Shakaku's Turn, the Day the Raging Fire Burns

Listen to It's Gonna Rain


   "You know, working with Kerai isn't as bad as you might think," Kyuuteki said as he walked down the hall with Kaboku.

   Kaboku gave no response to his master, as they continued to walk. Kaboku hated talking about Kerai and the way that Kyuuteki wanted them to work together. As far as Kaboku was concerned, Kerai and he would work separate, but Kyuuteki would not stand for that. "You could use Kerai's help," Kyuuteki added as he noticed Kaboku's silence and the way that Kaboku face showed that he wanted to end the discussion where it was.

   Kaboku responded with a grunt as the two continued walking. "I have no feelings for her," Kaboku finally said.

   "That doesn't matter," Kyuuteki said, stopping a few steps later.

   "She's just so annoying," Kaboku added.

   "Yes, she can be very annoying, but that does not mean that she is unbearable," Kyuuteki added. Kaboku closed his eyes to think about this, but he could not find it in himself to agree. He found Kerai to be a nuisance, and he hated her sassy personality. Kaboku wanted to stay away from her as much as possible, but like Kyuuteki had said, she was bearable if he was forced to work with her and had no other options. Kaboku hated to think that in time he might be forced to work with her, but her tried to keep himself from thinking about that.

   "I used to love," Kyuuteki said, breaking the silence between the two. "Yes, it is a wonderful emotion." Kaboku raised an eyebrow at his master. "All of the senshi know how to love," Kyuuteki continued. "However, there is one that does not, and you know who that is."

   Kaboku nodded in understanding. Sailor Phoenix had never learned the meaning of love, and she was scared to even consider the concept. The only real emotion close to love that she had ever felt was the friendship between Sailor Aquaria and her. "She has never known love," Kaboku said quietly.

   "No. Of all of the senshi, she is the only one that would make a fine ally in her present state. You have noticed the way that she fights in battles? She lets no emotion overcome her, and she keeps any emotion under control," Kyuuteki replied.

   "She reminds me of someone who might serve you," Kaboku added.

   "She does, which is why she will be our next target. I want you to make sure that she is completely alone and there is no way for the others to come to her aid. You know what happened when you attacked Aquaria," Kyuuteki said, reminding Kaboku of his previous failure.

   Kaboku bowed his head low as he remembered. He was going to learn from his mistakes, and he was not going to fail. "Even when she is alone, we both know that Sailor Phoenix makes a very good fighter. She is well prepared for what we are going to undergo, unlike the rest of them. You must be careful with her so as not to give her the same chance that she had in the past," Kyuuteki warned.

   Kaboku knew that Kyuuteki was right. When Kaboku had first started fighting for Kyuuteki, he had faced Sailor Phoenix alone the same way that he would now. She had the chance to kill Kaboku, but she did not take it because Sailor Aquaria had stepped in and reminded the angry senshi about their duty as senshi of justice and not poetic justice. If it had not been for Aquaria's intervention, Kaboku might not have made it out, and that battle clouded over Kaboku every time he thought about it.

   "I suggest that you take a yajuu," Kyuuteki said.

   "Of course. Fire resistant will work perfectly for me," Kaboku said with a nod; he bowed and turned to leave.




   "I love going to the mall," Kaichuu said happily as she, Dorei, and Hoshi were walking towards the mall.

   Dorei smiled and agreed with a nod. It was a Friday afternoon and all the three girls wanted to do was have some time to relax by going out on a shopping trip.

   "To bad Shakaku never wants to join us," Hoshi spoke up. Kaichuu turned towards Hoshi, raised an eyebrow and started to laugh.

   "She's not in to going to the mall, especially with Dorei and I. I asked her to come with us anyway and she said that she would rather stay home and play volleyball," Kaichuu responded.

   "She loves volleyball with a passion," Dorei noticed.

   Kaichuu widened her eyes and said sarcastically, "When did you notice?" The three girls walked a little further in silence until they walked into the mall.

   Hoshi looked around, and she saw a dark green shirt that caught her attention. "Look at that shirt!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to see it. While Hoshi was looking at the shirt, Kaichuu and Dorei noticed a few things that they liked, thus beginning their shopping spree.

   "Something you will never see Shakaku in," Kaichuu said as she held up a pair of flares for Dorei and Hoshi to see.

   "Defiantly not," Dorei agreed, "Although, I wouldn't mind those. Where did you find them?"

   Kaichuu dragged the two to where she had found the pants, and they each picked out a pair to try on.


   Kaboku watched from a bench as many people walked in and out of the mall. A silver-haired girl caught his attention as he saw her walking to the mall with two other girls, a blonde and a brunette. Kaboku knew instantly that the girls were none other than Sailor Aquaria, Sailor Gemini, and Sailor Virgas. Although he had the three senshi in his sight, he saw no sign of Sailor Phoenix.

   Kaboku turned around to look at what was happening around him. He rolled his eyes behind his dark sunglasses as he realized that two girls were watching him, and they were giggling. He looked straight at them, and they looked the other way, pretending not to have noticed him. As the girls started walking away, one of the girls tripped because she was busy looking back at Kaboku.

   Kaboku noticed a little boy walk over in his direction and he sat next to Kaboku; his legs swinging from the bench and he gazed up at Kaboku. Kaboku raised an eyebrow as the boy scooted closer, his big eyes looking up at him.

   "Daddy!" the boy said as he smiled a large smile and he put his arms around Kaboku. Kaboku eyes widened, and he sat still, frozen.

   "I am so sorry," a man said as he walked up to Kaboku. Kaboku unwrapped the boy's arms from around him and watched, confused, as the two walked away. He saw how the boy had mistaken him for his father, but the whole experience scared him.

   He stood up in alarm as he realized that the three senshi were walking into the mall and out of his sight. He walked quickly to the mall, crossing the street with a large group. He caught silver hair just as it entered the mall and he sighed in relief.

   "Too bad Shakaku never wants to join us," the blonde girl spoke up. The silver-eyed girl turned towards the girl who made the comment, raised an eyebrow, and started to laugh.

   "She's not in to going to the mall, especially with Dorei and I. I asked her to come with us anyway and she said that she would rather stay home and play volleyball," Kaichuu responded.

   The rest of what the girls said was unimportant to Kaboku and he grinned. Phoenix was at her home, and Kaboku was going to take his chance at attacking her. He walked quickly out of the door, and passed the two girls that had been giggling over him before. They were both blondes, one of them had her hair halfway up, while the other girl had her hair up in two buns and ponytails dangling from them. Kaboku could have sworn that they were twins at first glance, and he hated the pure energy that was coming from them.




   Shakaku brushed her hand against her forehead as she grabbed the volleyball from the ground. She walked over to the farthest line on the volleyball court and stood behind it in order to serve. She looked around as she got the feeling that someone was walking by. She hated being watched, but she saw no one, so she served the ball. She jogged over to where the ball was and picked it up again.

   This time, instead of serving it, she threw the ball up, passed it to herself, set it, and hit it over the net. She repeated this a few more times before she went to get a drink from her water bottle. Something did not seem right to her, and she looked up to a large tree that towered over the volleyball court. A large flock of birds suddenly flew out of it, and she lost the uneasy feeling for a second.

   She went back over to the ball, picked it up for another go at serving. She loved serving, and it let her get any anger out. She thought about Kaichuu, Dorei, and Hoshi who were shopping at the moment, and she hit the ball as hard as she could. She watched happily as the ball soared over the net and it landed in the center on the other side of the net.

   "Rah!" a yajuu screamed as it sprang at Shakaku from behind the large tree and grabbed her from behind.

   "I didn't think that it was going to be this easy," Kaboku said as he stepped out from behind the tree. Shakaku glared at Kaboku who stood about twenty feet away from her. He had a dagger the length of Shakaku's forearm in his hand, and he was grinning. Shakaku struggled against the yajuu's hold, but it was able to keep her under control.

   "You are just so helpless without your transformation-thing, aren't you?" Kaboku asked her as he walked forward and he twirled her transformation bracelet in his index finger. Shakaku eyes narrowed as she wondered about how he had managed to get a hold on her bracelet. How could I have been so stupid? Shakaku asked herself as she realized that Kaboku had taken it from where it had been laying on top of her gym bag where she had put it.

   Shakaku jabbed the yajuu with her elbow as hard as she could and she fell a good distance to the ground. She looked up briefly at the yajuu before she got up. It was tall and its skin glowed a dark crimson.

   "Kasai," Shakaku growled as she recognized this type of yajuu.

   "You know yajuus well," Kaboku commented. "Never thought that you would meet up with this situation, did you? I have your transformation bracelet, and even if you did get it back, the yajuu can withstand your attacks. There is also the fact that I could beat you to a bloody pulp if I wanted to." Shakaku's eyes widened; he was right. The yajuu walked behind her, and Kaboku remained in front of her. She turned to keep her eyes on both of them; the yajuu was breathing deeply, and Kaboku continued to twirl her transformation bracelet around his index finger.

   "Why don't you just come along? It would be much easier," Kaboku said, confident that he had won.

   "Over my dead body," Shakaku retorted. Kaboku charged at her, still holding the transformation pen and the dagger was held in his other hand above his head. Shakaku ducked, and she stuck her leg out in an effort to make him fall. While he was down for a brief moment, she pressured her foot on his back to keep him down, and she grabbed the dagger and her transformation bracelet.

   "Phoenix Constellation Power, Make up!" she yelled, making sure that no one was around as she thrust the bracelet in the air. Her transformation was quick, nothing but a full turn, and then she stopped in a low crouch.

   "You're powers are useless against us," Kaboku informed as he stood up.

   "No problem," Sailor Phoenix said as she showed him the dagger, which was now in her possession, and she started twirling it. She turned her head around to the yajuu and started running towards it. She positioned the dagger, and as she ran by, the dagger cut the yajuu at the waist, its cry of pain rang out. Being so large, the yajuu's movements were slow, and it was unable to get out of the way in time. She tumbled to the ground, doing a quick summersault as she got up again. She faced opposite of the creature as she heard it cry out and it fell to the ground.

   She turned around to see the look on Kaboku's face, which showed nothing but anger and frustration. "Look who has the upper hand now," Phoenix pointed out. Kaboku rushed forward, took a hold of her wrists, and the two of them fell to the ground. Kaboku pressed his knee into her abdomen, and Shakaku began to gasp for air.

   "Yes, I'd like to ask the same question now," Kaboku asked as he stood up. Sailor Phoenix got up into a crouch, as far as Kaboku would let her. He pointed the dagger straight at her face, and she even had to shrink back slightly. She moved to the side quickly, and set up her attack.

   "Phoenix Blazing Inferno," she said as she looked at him. As she released her attack, she noticed that Kaboku did not even move. Instead, he ran forward, and he swung his dagger in her direction. Even though Phoenix moved out of the way, Kaboku still managed to leave a thin cut with the dagger. Phoenix winced in pain as she lookeddown at the cut, but she continued to hold her ground.

   "It doesn't have to be this hard," Kaboku said as he stood ready to attack again.

   "You mean I should let you win? Interesting concept," Sailor Phoenix said sarcastically, and she rolled her eyes.

   "You would like the Dark Realm so much more," Kaboku tried to persuad her. Shakaku looked at Kaboku and she shook her head in disgust. Kaboku knew perfectly well that she would never go to the Dark Realm, and she found his attempts to be useless and a waste of time. She knew exactly why they wanted her in the Dark Realm, but she was not going to betray her partner or her duty as a senshi. You know you're not loved her," Kaboku said. He knew then that he had pushed the right button because the expression on Phoenix's face was full of furry and rage.

   "You're wrong!" Phoenix yelled at him. No, Kaichuu loved her, and they were the best of friends. Or were they? Why was it that Kaichuu had chosen to go out with Hoshi and Dorei if they were the close friends that Phoenix had thought them to be.

   "Am I? You don't look too sure of yourself," Kaboku pointed out as he noticed the unsure look on Phoenix's face. "I'll let you think about it," Kaboku finished as he took a step back, and he disappeared. Phoenix watched him disappear, and she decided that she was not going to fall for his mind game. She knew perfectly well that Kaichuu cared for her. But then, she couldn't help but question it some more.

   Nothing stirred nor moved for a few seconds while she stood there looking around the volleyball court. Her fuku was coated with a thin coat a dust from the sand that she had been down upon a few times during the fight. She detransformed, and looked up as she heard a sound that sounded much like a window rattling from her apartment on the third floor.

   From where she stood, she could see Hades trying with all of his might to open the door from inside the apartment. She watched him curiously until he finally managed to get it open. Hades flew over to the balcony railing, and looked at Shakaku for a second before he flew down.

   "That was some good thinking," Hades spoke.

   "I couldn't let him win," Shakaku responded.

   "Of course not!" Hades agreed. Hades landed on the bench where Shakaku's gym bag was and she walked over to it and sat down. "I'd like to know where Kaichuu is," Hades added.

   "She went shopping with Dorei and Hoshi," Shakaku answered, getting a drink from her water bottle.

   "You know, she has the worst timing a person can have," Hades pointed out. "She knows perfectly well what Kyuuteki is up to, yet she actually let you stay home alone, outside with no one around much less!" Hades said.

   "The way you put it, you make Kaichuu seem like the bad person," Shakaku said, covering for her friend.

   "That's not the point. She should take better care in what she does. What if the situation had been different and you wouldn't have been able to stop Kaboku? What if Kyuuteki himself decided to come down while she is at the mall?" Hades lectured.

   "Now you're lecturing me," Shakaku pointed out.

   "Sorry," Hades blushed.

   "I can see where you are coming from, but she didn't have bad intentions. She just longs to have some fun in her life. And besides, what matters is that everything is ok, and I didn't get seriously hurt," Shakaku responded.

   "Yes, but what if," Hades added again. Shakaku stroked Hades affectionately.

   "I know, but it didn't happen that way," Shakaku repeated.

   "So what happened? I only saw things after you took out the yajuu," Hades inquired.

   "I was playing volleyball and I had an uneasy feeling. I didn't think it was anything, but I found out that I was wrong,"" Shakaku said. "I had my transformation bracelet on my gym bag, and Kaboku managed to get a hold on it."

   "We have to be more careful," Hades warned.

   "Thank you, mother," Shakaku said back.

   Hades rolled his eyes, "I am supposed to be your guardian, your mentor. What do you expect? I just don't want to see you get hurt if there is a way around it."

   "I know, I just hate being lectured," Shakaku sighed.

   "Who doesn't?" Hades said as he sat down comfortably on the bench.



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