Part Ten : Kerai Steps Up; Attack on the Senshi of Darkness
"We had it coming," Kerai whispered as she turned her head to look at Kaboku.
"Be silent," Kaboku warned. The two doors that lead into the large courtroom opened, and Kyuuteki walked through with a look of pure disgust on his face. The doors slammed shut behind him, and in a few quick strides Kyuuteki was in front of Kaboku and Kerai, who bowed their heads down.
"That was pure idiocy; I don't know what you were thinking Kaboku. You, Kerai, had no more right than he did to be out there. That is not what we agreed on," Kyuuteki bellowed, referring to the previous battle.
"Please forgive us," Kerai and Kaboku said together as they bowed lower. Kyuuteki walked past them and he walked the three steps up to the throne where he sat down.
"It's a good thing the both of you have never failed me like this before, otherwise you two would have a lot of explaining to do. I expected better from you, especially you, Kaboku," Kyuuteki said in a low and dangerous growl.
"It will never happen again," Kaboku said, not raising his head.
"You did say that we should work together," Kerai said defensively.
"I meant together when following the plan that we had laid out," Kyuuteki growled dangerously.
"Dracas will be next?" Kaboku asked, interrupting Kyuuteki.
"Yes, but we must send a yajuu ahead to get a better chance. The yajuu will spy for a while before making the attack. I advise you go with it, Kaboku," Kyuuteki suggested.
"Actually Kerai volunteered to go," Kaboku said. He had been in hot water too many times recently, and now it would be Kerai's turn.
Kyuuteki turned in Kerai's direction and raised an eyebrow. Kerai looked up and elbowed Kaboku before she smiled slowly.
"Take whatever you need, just make sure that you do not fail," Kyuuteki explained. "Dracas is the easiest of them all to catch, and I don't think even you should have a problem."
"I will do my best," Kerai said.
Enzeru stepped out of her classroom and knew that no one else was around even though she was unable to see.
Kaichuu and Shakaku had promised to walk her home from school, but as she expected they were not there. Enzeru shook her head as she figured that Kaichuu might have stayed after class to talk to her boyfriend, and she laughed as she imagined Shakaku dragging a screaming Kaichuu away.
"Weren't Kaichuu and Shakaku supposed to pick you up after school," Hoshi asked Enzeru as she and Dorei got out of their classroom and walked up to her.
"I'm sure Kaichuu wanted to stay 'just a few minutes' to talk to her boyfriend," Enzeru replied, saying exactly what she thought Kaichuu might have told Shakaku.
"That doesn't surprise me," Dorei said, rolling her eyes. "I wonder how things are going with her and her lover boy anyway."
"Kaichuu would make sure that it would be going alright," Hoshi pointed out. All three girls knew that Kaichuu was really excited that she had a boyfriend, and they knew that she would be trying her hardest to make the relationship work.
"Although I hear that Shakaku and Kumori aren't getting along," Dorei said to the other two girls.
"What can you expect? She hates boys with a passion," Enzeru said.
"I, personally, am glad that Kaichuu has found someone," Hoshi said. "At least it shuts her up and keeps her out of my hair."
"True," Dorei agreed with a nod. Dorei looked at her watch; Kaichuu and Shakaku were now ten minutes late, and if she didn't leave now, she would be late for voice lessons. "I have to leave, I have voice lessons in twenty minutes and it takes me fifteen minutes just to walk there," Dorei explained.
Hoshi nodded, "I have cross-country practice in a little bit and I still have to dress out. Sorry we can't stay longer."
"I'm sure they'll be here any second," Enzeru replied.
Shakaku tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Kaichuu to get out of her art class. Kaichuu's class had gotten out ten minutes ago, but Kaichuu had stayed late to talk with Kumori. After a few more minutes of waiting, Shakaku walked into the room and grabbed the back of Kaichuu's shirt.
"What are you doing?" Kaichuu asked, surprised that she was being dragged away from her conversation.
"I've waited too long," was the only thing that Shakaku said until they were out of the room. "I agreed to put up with him, but you're pushing it," Shakaku said angrily.
"Would you rather me not talk to him at all?" Kaichuu asked with big, sad eyes.
Shakaku hated when Kaichuu put her in positions when she had to give in to Kaichuu, so she replied, "No, that's not what I meant. Anyway, we're late to go pick up Enzeru. We promised her that we would be there right after your class got out. But no, you wanted to stay a few extra minutes to talk with that thing of yours."
"You could have left without me," Kaichuu pointed out.
"And set you up to be attacked again?" Shakaku asked. She didn't even want to think about what might have happened if she would have left Kaichuu and her boyfriend alone again. If Kaboku was as hotheaded as he was last time then he would have attacked once again much like the last time. No, Shakaku thought, Kyuuteki must have had a talk with that hot-tempered idiot. Shakaku knew very well that Kyuuteki would have talked with Kaboku about how that wasn't the plan. Shakaku also knew that their plan was to catch each senshi when they were on their own, which was why she did not want to leave without Kaichuu.
"Let's go," Shakaku said, dragging Kaichuu away from Kumori who was about to kiss her goodbye.
"You have the worst timing," Kaichuu pouted as she tried to keep up with Shakaku's fast pace.
"We don't want to leave Enzeru alone for too long," Shakaku said as she quickened her pace. Kaichuu broke into a run in order to catch up with her friend, but almost stopped as Shakaku also began to run.
"She'll be fine," Kaichuu pleaded.
"Better safe than sorry," Shakaku muttered the cliché phrase as she squeezed in between a group of oncoming school children.
"It's about time. Let me guess, Kaichuu wanted to chitty chat with her fiancé?" Enzeru said as Shakaku and Kaichuu arrived Enzeru's school to pick her up.
"He is not my fiancé!" Kaichuu shrieked.
Enzeru rose from the bench that she had been sitting at, grabbed her book bag, and extended her walking stick. "Sure seems like it from all that time that you have been spending with him," she commented.
"Aren't a boyfriend and girlfriend required to hang out?" Kaichuu asked, trying to prove to Enzeru that she was not spending too much time with Kumori.
"Yes, but after a while one begins to wonder if the girl is becoming obsessive," Shakaku broke in.
"Quiet you," Kaichuu hissed playfully.
"Isn't there a park around here? I want to do my homework for a little bit," Enzeru said, changing the subject.
Kaichuu eye's widened, "How can anyone want to do their homework?"
Shakaku lead Enzeru across the street were there was, in fact, a small park with a few trees where they could sit together.
"Let me guess, we're not leaving because she might be in danger?" Kaichuu asked, although she already knew the answer to the question.
"Oh give it a rest. Besides, we all have some homework to do. I know for a fact that you have some math to finish," Shakaku replied as she set her book bag down where she was going to sit.
"Oh the joyful bliss of finishing my Algebra homework. Is there not a more wonderful pastime than wasting it?" Kaichuu said, trying sounding poetic and classic.
"I can think of one thing, watching paint dry, and watching paint that is already dry try to dry some more," Shakaku responded with a smile.
"But of course," Kaichuu said as she fished through the bottomless pit that was known as her backpack for her Algebra book. Instead, Kaichuu found a stray piece of duct tape at the bottom of the bag and she grinned. Shakaku did not see the piece of duct tape, but she saw the look on Kaichuu's face and she rose instantly, preparing to defend herself.
"She has duct tape, doesn't she?" Shakaku asked Enzeru.
"Judging by the sound, and pitch, of her laughter I would believe so," Enzeru answered cautiously.
"Eh," Kaichuu said as she took the piece out of her bag and set it gently on the grass, "I'm going to let it run and frolic instead of wasting it on you. Then again, it could help me with my Algebra homework." Kaichuu picked up the tape and stuck it on her shoulder like a parrot.
"Wait and see if they leave the small one alone," Kerai whispered to the yajuu that was standing right next to her. The creature looked from behind the group of bushes, where it and Kerai were watching the senshi, to see what they were doing. "I can't afford you to fail," Kerai said sternly. The yajuu growled in response.
A few moments later, Kerai left the yajuu alone to wait for the right time to attack. The yajuu crouched down on the cool dirt and waited. It watched as Kaichuu took a piece of duct tape from her book bag, place it on the grass, and then place it on her shoulder. The yajuu felt uncomfortable as it had had a bad experience with duct tape in the past. How was it supposed to know that the material was sticky and did not agree with its face? The creature growled as it continued to watch the girls until it could no longer stand it. No matter how much Kerai had warned it not to attack until Dracas was alone, it wanted blood, and it wanted it now.
Just as the three girls were beginning their homework, the black colored creature leapt out at them with a fierce growl. Kaichuu, who was the furthest away from the bushes that the yajuu had emerged from, managed to remain free from the creature, although Shakaku and Enzeru were not so lucky.
"Aquaria Constellation Power, Make up!" she called out as she raised her arm with the transformation bracelet up into the air. The yajuu squeezed the other two girls until they began to gasp for air.
"The constellation Aquarius sends its powerful waves onto this world and with that power I am Sailor Aquaria, entering the battle scene with the mighty ocean at my side," Sailor Aquaria said after she had finished transforming.
"That's nice, but we need a little help," Shakaku said as she continued to gasp for air.
"Aquaria Shattering Wave!" the senshi screamed as she crouched down with her attack. Her attack managed to make the yajuu let the two girls go, but it also managed to make it extremely angry.
"Phoenix Constellation Power, Make up!"
"Dracas Constellation Power, Make up!"
"Mad," the yajuu growled.
"You should be. Twisting Flame Encounter!" Sailor Phoenix screamed. By the time she launched her attack the creature was out of sight.
"I hate it when they send those," Sailor Aquaria said.
"It's right there!" Sailor Dracas said, pointing to the bushes that the creature had first emerged from. Sailor Phoenix ran to the bushes to see if she could catch it and keep it still instead of attacking it, but Dracas informed her that it had already moved.
"Phinny, maybe you should give it a little 'shower', the creature might have rabies," Sailor Aquaria suggested.
"Right you are," Sailor Phoenix replied as she caught on to what Aquaria was telling her.
Dracas did what she was supposed to do in these situations, and she looked in the opposite direction that the yajuu was in. "Phoenix Fireball Shower!" Sailor Phoenix yelled, emphasizing the word 'shower' as she shot the attack in the direction of the creature. Even though it moved slightly, the yajuu was still hit due to the fact that the attack was able to cover a large area.
The yajuu continued to make an effort to move, but it remained where it was. "Aquaria Tsunami!" Sailor Aquaria yelled, taking her chance at attacking the fallen creature. When Aquaria took another look, she saw that the creature was unharmed, but it was just the same, and she grew angry when she saw that another yajuu, a water-resistant one, had used its body to cover its comrade.
"Twisting Flame Encounter!" Sailor Phoenix shouted angrily at the creature that was helpless against the fire-based attack. "You may proceed," Phoenix said after her attack had violently taken down the water-resistant yajuu.
"Aquaria Tsunami!" Sailor Aquaria summoned her attack once more, and this time it destroyed the yajuu completely.
"How much trouble do you think whoever sent the yajuu is going to be in?" Sailor Dracas asked.
"It was such a fool," the three girls turned and looked uphill to see Kerai standing and looking down at them. "I warned it to wait, but instead it walked into its own coffin. Do you realize how much trouble I will be in!? Kerai screamed at them.
"First of all, you deserve it. Second, woman you have some set of pipes; shut the hell up!" Sailor Aquaria shouted right back at Kerai who remained silent until she began to disappear.
"I will return!"
"We don't care," Sailor Phoenix said after Kerai had vanished.
"This battle brought to you by the almighty power of duct tape. To obtain..."
"Like I said, we don't care," Phoenix repeated. Sailor Aquaria's face flushed a bright red until Dracas got in between the two and she gave both of them the eye.
Back to Part Nine ~
On to Part Eleven