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 3 : SHELL GAME A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers cross-over by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@excite.com) "If only I had known then... that a shell of iron... is hollow." -Anthony Stark Part 5 : Drawing the Battle Lines The unthinkable had happened. Ryo no Rekka and Seiji no Korin had met in battle, and this was no sparring match. To put it gently, each was giving his all. To put it less gently, each was doing his best to kill the other bastard. Swords rang like bells as they clashed, whirring through the air faster than the eye could follow. "I don't want to hurt you, Seiji!" "Don't worry Ryo... YOU WON'T!" Ryo Sanada lunged, parrying with one katana and thrusting the other straight towards his friend's heart. To his surprise, the green armoured samurai grabbed the blade with one gauntlet and twisted it free, throwing it across the clearing. "You know, that weight training is starting to show, Ryo..." "Really?" Ryo ducked under Seiji's massive no datchi and tried to slash, but found himself parried again by the gleaming blade. "Yeah..." Seiji grinned viciously. "YOU'RE GETTING SLOW!" The two broke apart and raised their blades, each sizing up his opponent. Seiji had the early advantage, due to the six foot terror he called a sword, but if Ryo got in close enough, the no datchi's length could become a disadvantage. They were both wheezing already, and they couldn't have been fighting for more than ten or fifteen minutes. "How... long have you... been doing this again, Ryo?" Seiji panted, his shoulders heaving. His blade, however, didn't so much as quiver. "Since... I was... five." Ryo panted. "Should have started earlier... it would have improved your form..." Seiji chuckled dryly and stepped forward, lifting his sword over his head with both hands. Ryo smiled evilly. "I didn't hear Minako complaining about my form last night..." His main advantage had been his paired blades. If he wanted to win, he needed Seiji to get sloppy enough that he could get the other katana back. "Now you're playing dirty, Ryo." Seiji didn't look too happy. "Funny," Ryo chuckled, "she said THAT too..." Seiji charged, as Ryo knew he would. Leaping into the air, Ryo somersaulted and planted his katana into Seiji's back as he landed behind the Yoroiden, grabbing for the second part of his Rekka Ken. Seiji groaned, and a trickle of crimson flowed down the steel of Ryo's blade. "Looks like first blood." Ryo smirked. "But not the LAST!" Spinning, Seiji's Korin Ken was nothing more than a blur of steel as it slashed across Ryo's stomach. Doubling over, Ryo coughed up a fair amount of red liquid. ********** From his perch atop the mountain peak, a thin man in tattered robes watched as the two friends and teammates battled to the death. His eyes glowed green as he tilted his head quizzically. "Such pain," Badamon murmured to himself. "Let's see if I can help... WORSEN IT..." Gesturing emphatically, he increased the strength of his spell. That poor fool Seiji no Korin hadn't even noticed it being cast on him. ********** Jirougorou Kuroda stalked down the halls of his Empress' castle. He smiled secretly to himself. He knew Saranbo had spies watching him : he watched the watchers. Even now, they were probably scrambling to decipher the meaning of his every motion. It didn't matter, really : by the time they knew, they would all be dead. "Naaza! How are you, old reptile? Such a coincidence we should meet HERE, of all places!" The man sharing the passageway with him raised an eyebrow in confusion, his strange golden eyes gleaming in the shadows of the stone corridor. His green hair was completely out of control, as usual, and his green silk tunic was covered in bloodstains. Once the most lethal of the Masho, Naotoki Yamanouchi had since turned his skills to healing. This room was his own clinic, and the irony of Rajura's statement was not lost on him. "Yesss..." The Snake Masho drawled. "How very... coincidental. Why don't we see if the kitchens have some scraps for two old dogs such as ourselves, eh?" That, a saying of their absent friend Anubis, was equally ironic, and Rajura nodded slightly in response. Halfway down the passage, there was a slight turn and a convienient alcove. Ducking in, Rajura silently counted to twelve and reached out his hand, catching the ninja following him and snapping its neck with a twist of his fingers. "Now," he said quietly, "let us discuss some matters freely." Naaza nodded, a cool smirk on his lips. ********** Touma Hashiba was dreaming, and he didn't care. In the dream, and he KNEW it was a dream, he wandered through a strange place. It was a castle, he was sure, but not the castle he had fallen asleep in. This castle lacked the harsh black granite and white marble, instead seeming to be made entirely out of smooth, translucent crystal of some kind. The room was annoyingly familiar, with a couch, television, chairs, coffee table, and several other accoutrements one would expect to find in a normal living room. There was also a familiar golden bow hanging on the wall, along with a quiver of golden arrows. This, Touma guessed, was HIS home, unless the Sho Ha Kyu had been passed on. Curiously, he picked up some of the books on the table. Romance novels, sitting next to advanced astrophysics journals? For that matter, why were there so many flowers scattered around the place? "No, honey. We have to be a little more gentle when we're stirring..." The voice drifted from around the corner, and Touma carefully glided across the polished crystal floor to peer around the corner. It was a small kitchen, more of a kitchenette, really. Makoto Kino was standing with her back to him and stirring some kind of batter. He smiled and shook his head. She was wearing a full length ball gown, with an apron thrown over it. Green, of course : his new favorite colour. Her hair had been let out of the ponytail she usually kept it in, spilling down her back like a chocolate waterfall. Touma wished he had a notepad nearby. "Chocolate waterfall"... he'd have to remember that one. There was also, he noticed, a small girl of about five standing on a stool next to Makoto. Folding his arms, he leaned against the doorframe and watched as Makoto taught the little one how to cook. The kid was cute as a button, he noticed in passing, like a little version of Mako-chan. He wondered why she had... blue... hair... ********** Usagi Tsukino looked up as she heard a soft knocking. It wasn't that she wasn't expecting anybody : her guard Koma had left a few minutes ago with two of the Masho she remembered seeing around earlier. What surprised her was that the door was NOT knocking. For some reason, the window had decided to get knocked on instead. Curious, she walked over and opened the shutters, only to have two large and angry looking men in samurai armour force their way in and begin searching the room thoroughly. A bit miffed at being ignored, Usagi cleared her throat. "Usagi!" The man in light blue raced over and grabbed her shoulders, peering intently at her face. "Are you all right? What has Saturn done to you? Are you... YOU?" "Shin, why are you shaking me? Put me down!" Shin Mouri quickly released his Queen and looked sheepish. "Usagi, I... we.." He gestured to Shuu Rei Fuan, the other armoured man in the room, who waved jauntily and went back to searching the room. "We... got worried about you. Are you feeling okay? Is there anything you need? Just say the word, and I swear it will be yours. Anything." "Really?" Usagi squinted at the two men. "ANYTHING? Why?" "You're our Queen." Shin and Shuu bowed, each dropping to one knee. "Whatever you desire is yours." "Hmmm..." Usagi thought about that. She... was their Queen? Yeah, she did remember something about that. And they had to obey her every command? COOL! "Very well," she said in her most imperious tone, "then, as your Queen, I command you to... uhm... stop... being so mean to Hotaru-chan!" "Huh?" The pair of Yoroiden asked. "You've been chasing after poor Hotaru, and she never did ANYTHING! So... just CUT IT OUT! Leave her alone!" Usagi crossed her arms and began to pout. Shuu and Shin both sweatdropped. "Uhm..." Shuu spoke first. "Do you feel at all brainwashed, or under evil mind control, 'Sagi?" "No, why?" "Kuso..." Shin stood up and drew his dagger. "You mean we've been harassing an innocent girl, and attacked you, OUR QUEEN, for no good reason?" "Well... yeah!" "Great." Shin groaned. "Well, sorry to have troubled you, Usagi. If you need us, we'll be over in the corner commiting ritual suicide. Come on, Shuu." "There will be no need for that," Koma said as she entered the room silently. Rajura and Naaza stood behind her, weapons at the ready. "We have all been decieved, Yoroiden. Seek your honour through vengeance, not seppuku. Usagi, if it pleases you, shall we take our leave of this castle now?" "Now? Why now, Koma?" The girl smiled coldly. "Oh, no reason. We're only about to be invaded by a hostile army. And please... call me Kayura." ********** Kill... Kill... The urge pounded through Seiji Date with every pulse, every heartbeat refreshing his bloodlust as he swung at Ryo Sanada. He had to kill... kill... Ryo? He blinked. He didn't want to kill Ryo! Ryo was his friend! Ryo was his leader! He wanted to... to... Kill... Kill... Ryo desperatly tried to block and parry as Seiji pounded on the young man's futile defense like a jackhammer, relentlessly hacking and slashing, raising sparks and blood in equal amounts as Ryo dropped to his knees and lashed out with one foot, forcing his friend's left knee to bend the wrong way. There was a sound like a gunshot, and Seiji fell, his sword dropping from his fingers. "Ryo... I'll... I'll KILL YOU FOR THAT!" Seiji spun, his good leg snapping like a whip as it caught Ryo Sanada square in the jaw, jerking his head back. The red armoured samurai flipped, landing on his back in the dirt as Seiji somehow made it back on his feet and hefted his sword. "NOOOO!" A small form in white and purple interjected itself between the two warriors, wrapping its arms around Ryo's neck. "Please," Hotaru Tomoe begged, tears streaming down her face, "I'll... I'll go with you, I'll die, whatever you want! Just stop hurting each other like this!" Seiji paused his sword in mid-descent. Sailor Saturn looked up at him with her big, tear-filled eyes, and the kanji on his forehead began to glare. ** Wisdom... ** The Korin Ken was glowing. Seiji looked at the face reflected in the mirror-like blade, and froze in disbelief. There was such anger, such hatred in that face... could it really be HIS? Why had he attacked Ryo so willingly? He had always prided himself on being able to listen to reason, RYO was supposed to be the tempermental one... The reflection turned into a sickeningly familiar face, one twisted with rage and evil. Its green eyes glowed as its cruel mouth moved silently. Kill, it whispered, kill Sanada, kill Saturn... BADAMON. "No..." Seiji whispered, as his sword rose again, "No, get out of my head, don't make me do this... RYO! ANYBODY! PLEASE, STOP ME!" "Seiji?" Ryo stared through blurry eyes at the boy as he seemed to develop a double image, blurring in and out of phase with his real body as he lifted the blade higher and higher... ...and, with a cry of anguish and triumph, drove it into himself. There was a sudden gush of blood, staining the already crimson streaked armour plates, and Seiji chuckled softly as he slid to the ground once more. Hotaru held her breath as she watched the boy fall, and released Ryo, sliding over to where the blond man lay in a slowly spreading pool of blood. "Hey, kid..." Seiji wheezed as she lifted his head and placed it in her lap, "Sorry 'bout that whole... trying to... kill you stuff. Wasn't... my... choice..." Voice trailing off, his head lolled back. Hotaru Tomoe responded by gently placing her hands on his chest. There was a soft, pinkish purple glow from between her fingers. ********* Seiji opened his eyes. "Hey," he said in surprise, "I ain't dead!" Sitting up, he looked over at the small black-haired girl placing her hands on Ryo's various wounds and healing them in a light purple aura of energy. "Uhm..." The Yoroiden of Korin looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm pretty much the biggest chump alive right now, aren't I?" "Yes," Ryo answered matter-of-factly, "and you need a haircut." Seiji no Korin slowly got to his feet. Even his knee was healed, he noted professionally. Not a bad job... "Sailor Saturn... Hotaru..." The girl turned around and bit her lip as Seiji placed his hands on either side of her face. "You cut your face," he said softly, his eyes filled with apology. "Let me help." There was a brief flash of golden light, and suddenly Hotaru felt warm, and happy, and loved... The flash faded, and she could tell her face was healed. "Domo arigato, Seiji-san..." "Gomen nasai, Hotaru-chan." Seiji sighed. "Can you ever forgive me for my foolishness?" "Of course she will, Seiji!" Ryo walked over and placed a hand on both of his friends' shoulders. "She's pretty nice that way. And sweet, and kind, and gentle... me, though? I'm NEVER going to let you live it down. For example ; remember that time you tried to kill Sailor Saturn, and when I told you not to, you tried to kill me too? Boy, I sure do..." ********** Setsuna Meioh was being far too quiet as she walked through the bogs, occasionally pausing only to knock aside some of the sparse tree limbs that tore at her fuku. A few steps behind her, Sailor Uranus was still trying to figure out what had just happened. "So let me get this straight, Pluto. You barge into Kujuurou Sasaki's camp, demand that he let me go, and he DOES?" "Anubis is very single-minded. As long as he is hunting Hotaru, he doesn't care what happens to the rest of us." "Yes..." Haruka admitted, "but I'm still confused by the part where you know him so well. Are you two old friends, or something?" Setsuna's eyes flashed red in the darkness of the bog. "Old... yes. Friends, no. DEFINITELY not friends." Haruka sighed. "Gee, Setsuna's being mysterious. I didn't see THAT coming..." After a few seconds of disgruntled silence, the blond tomboy spoke up again. "Can you at least tell me what you know about him? If he's going after Hotaru, any information would be helpful." Sailor Pluto stopped and shifted her grip on the Garnet Rod in her hands. With one free hand, she flipped her long, dark green tresses over her shoulder and sat on a fallen log. "Anubis," she said calmly, "is the Yoroiden of Yami. His armour derives its power from darkness, shadows, and wolves. He can teleport or become invisible, as long as there are shadows nearby. His main weapon is a no datchi sword, but he also relies on his razor claws in close combat. He can communicate telepathically with wolves, and often uses them as scouts or advance troops." "Wow. Anything else?" The green-haired Senshi of Time nodded and continued. "He was born Kujuurou Sasaki, and although he looks twenty, he was actually born in Northern Honshuu, in 1550. His birthday is December 3. He is an accomplished hunter and tracker, and utterly ruthless." She paused, as if trying to recall something else. "He is weak against light attacks, and... oh, yes. He is allergic to broccoli." "Allergic to broccoli?" Haruka raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're making that up, Setsuna. How could you possibly know if he was allergic to broccoli?" "Because once I cooked him something with broccoli in it, and he nearly died." Sailor Pluto smiled in a very un-Setsuna like manner. "In retrospect... I should have hidden the broccoli better. If he had eaten more, it might have worked..." ********** Kayura stopped the procession briefly at the doors to her council room. Rushing inside with Usagi a few steps behind, she walked to the small shrine against the far wall. "Usagi," she said quickly, "I must entrust you with these." Picking up the two stone tablets engraved with the names of Kauso and Toshitada Koma, she passed them to her young friend. "Should anything happen to me, I want to know that the spirits of my ancestors will be safe in your hands." Usagi looked down at the simple stone tablets and reached out to accept them. "I... I'll guard them with my life, Kom... Kayura." "Domo arigato, Usagi Tsukino." After a moment's pause, Kayura reached out and took one other thing from the shrine : a wicked and gleaming Kusari-Gama. "This was the weapon of my ancestor, Toshitada Koma, he who was known as Shutendoji. May his spirit guard us all, Usagi Tsukino." Usagi nodded. "Yeah." She started to leave, then stopped when she noticed the small girl wasn't moving. "Are you okay, Kayura?" The girl finally looked much older than twelve, for the first time since Usagi met her. "This was my home, Usagi. I cannot be okay." From the door, Shuu Rei Fuan looked in. "Hey! Uhm, I hate to rush you two ladies, but Rajura says we need to leave, like, NOW." ********** Touma Hashiba woke up to the sounds of a siege. He had never sat through one before, but he sure as hell knew the sounds of a war when he heard one, and anytime a war breaks out in your bedroom, it was a siege in his book. Jumping out of bed, he grabbed for the only two things he needed. One of these, he planned to use. "BUSSO, TENKU!" In a characteristic flare of blue light, complete with whirling ribbons and sakura petals, Touma was transformed into the greaming blue and gold yoroi of Tenku. A familiar orange figure hurtled by the door. "Hey Touma! We're moving out!" "Shuu? What the hell's going on?" Touma stuck his head through the door and watched as Sailor Moon, Naaza, Shin no Suiko, Rajura, and Kayura raced by, each barely taking time to wave. "Saranbo!" Shuu tossed over his shoulder. "Saranbo? CHIKUSO!" Touma cursed, and joined his friends in... uhm... 'strategic retreat'. Saranbo had managed to beat all of the Yoroiden by himself the last time they faced off, and that had been when they had the help of Seiji, as well as Ryo and the Kikouten. "Well," Shin joked sarcastically, "I always wanted to see more of this lovely countryside!" ********** "I got to tell you," Rei Hino said sarcastically, "I can't wait to see more of this lovely countryside!" Minako Aino shrugged and applied a brush rigorously to her waist-length blond hair. "It's not so bad here, once you get used to it, Rei." Michiru Kaioh snorted from where she lay looking at a map. "Right. The Dynasty may smell like rotten eggs, be filled with rabid monsters, have poison for water, and sometimes people disappear for no apparent reason, but it's not so bad once you get used to it..." Minako put down her brush and turned to her friend. "You know, Michiru? You've been a real drag these past few days. Do you mind getting off my back for a minute?" "A real..." Michiru sat up. "Where do you get off? Ever since we came here, I've gone through hell! My daughter has an entire world after her head, the person I love is missing... you can't understand!" "No." Minako stood up and turned her back on the green haired girl. "I can't understand what that's like. I mean, Makoto, Ami and I only have to deal with the fact that the people WE love are trying to kill us. Obviously, you have it MUCH worse than any of us." "Just shut the hell up." Everybody turned and stared at Ami. Had she just CURSED? Ami Mizuno looked back at them. "What? You heard me. Shut. The. Hell. Up. I'm SICK of all your... WHINING!" Makoto Kino sat up and glared blearily at the group. "Do you MIND? SOME of us are trying to dream about our boyfriends!" Haruka Ten'ou stuck her head into the tent. "Hi! Are we interrupting anything?" Setsuna was two steps behind, with a sour expression on her face. "HARUKA!" Michiru leapt to her feet and raced over to the flap of the tent, wrapping her arms around her love. As the two began to weep and laugh and hug, Minako quietly backed out of the tent. ********** Minako Aino walked several feet away, where nobody could hear her, and started to cry. It wasn't FAIR! Seiji was gone, she knew it. It was that damned curse, Kaito Ace coming back from beyond the grave to ruin her life again. ** He throws a card to her. ** ** "The ace of hearts!?" ** ** It tears apart before her eyes. ** ** "I'll tell your final love fortune," he says. ** ** "Your love will be hopeless for all eternity." ** ** "What's wrong?" he says. "You should look happier. ** ** Now you can go on living, without having to torment ** ** yourself over the ultimate choice, your love or your ** ** duty. Your fate is to continue fighting..." ** Curling into a ball on the ground, she continued to sniffle for a while. It was true, she knew. Ever since that day, when Sailor V finally realized her destiny as Sailor Venus, protector of the queen, she had been doomed. There was to be no happiness in her future, nobody but her Queen and her duty, forever and ever. She had hoped, for a while, that maybe Seiji Date had been different, but now it was clear : he was just like all the others, using her to get close to Usagi. He had probably been working with the Dynasty all along, that jerk... Just then, she thought she heard voices talking - no, SINGING - in the drakness. The first to sing was a thin and high voice she recognised as Hotaru's, and she had to smile despite her mood. Darlin' Just for me matteru wa kokoro ni ZOKU-ZOKU agetai anata no yubisaki ga izanau ROMANSU unmei goto kitto Fallin' love... Then, to her surprise, she heard what sounded like Ryo Sanada joining in on the next verse. What was going on? "Tonight fushigi ne umizoi ni tometa kuruma sou futari wa konna chikaku ni ite mo mienai BARIA jamashite-iru no wa naze namida afuresou..." "Fallin' Love..." Hotaru interjected in her sing-song voice. Slowly, the group came into view. Hotaru was in the lead, smiling and carrying her Silence Glaive. Following with equal smiles were Ryo Sanada, who held her free hand, and Seiji Date, who was even now singing the next verse in a lovely and rich tenor. "Darlin' Just for me matteru wa kokoro ni ZOKU-ZOKU agetai anata no yubisaki ga izanau ROMANSU unmei goto kitto Fallin' love..." His voice slowly ground to a halt as he saw Minako staring at him in combined anger and disbelief. "Uhm... Ryo? Why don't you and Hotaru-chan go on into the tent and say hello to Ami and the rest?" With a free hand, he flipped back the blond bangs that seemed to permanently cover his right eye. "I have a few things to take care of out here." "Yeah..." Ryo said, his smile fading quickly. "I guess I'll have a few... 'things' to sort out, too..." Hotaru looked over at the boy and smiled. "If it helps any, Ami likes chess, reading, and sandwiches. Oh, and backrubs drive her crazy. But if she asks, I never told you any of that... especially the last one." Ryo grinned back. "Hmmm... sandwiches, books, and backrubs, eh? Excellent..." The Yoroiden chortled and rubbed his hands together. "I'm going to like having you as an accomplice, Hotaru-chan... We'll win Ami over yet, or die trying!" Hotaru nodded. "Or try dying. Or do some tie-dying!" Laughing, the pair wandered off in the vague direction of the tent. Seiji sighed and sat next to Minako. "So? What's wrong?" "You are, you jerk! How could you be fighting against us?" The man shrugged. He was dressed in grey slacks and a black dress shirt, with a suede jacket thrown over top. "I'm not. If I was, wouldn't I be using my yoroi by now?" Minako blinked. "But... but you wanted to kill Hotaru!" "You mean, the same Hotaru I was just walking and singing with? I don't have anything against her : she's a great girl. Not as cute as you are, but that's just my opinion..." Seiji smirked and put one arm around the blond girl's shoulders. "HEY! I'm trying to be mad at you, here!" Minako shrugged his arm off and stood, glaring at him angrily. "Why?" Seiji shrugged. "I was confused, I was on the wrong side at first, and I admit it. From now on, I'll always do whatever you say is right... until the next time I don't." He smiled again, and Minako tried VERY hard not to melt. "You were trying to kill us, Seiji." "Oh, PLEASE!" Seiji snorted and hopped to his own feet. "Do you remember when we fought all those youma and daimons? And all those robots? Do you EVER remember us fighting as badly as we fought against you? I mean, Ryo and Touma ALONE once fought off ten thousand youja, and they were a LOT tougher than you girls. We threw that fight, and you know it." WHACK! "Aaaaah!" Seiji slowly got back up, rubbing a large red mark on his face. "Did you have to keep the rings on? I mean, OUCH!" "I'm not going to believe you that easily, Seiji." Seiji shrugged again. "Fine. Use this!" He lifted his one hand, which was holding a familiar golden compact. "It reflects the true face of the enemy, right?" "How did you... I didn't even feel you..." Minako stuttered, aghast, as her hand clutched the pocket of her dress, where she would have sworn that very compact had been two seconds ago. "Hand is quicker than the eye, Minako. It's a little trick I learned from Shin." Flipping it open, Seiji turned it so it faced Minako. Sailor V stared back from the reflection, and flashed the 'V for victory' pose. Minako blinked, and accepted the compact, turning it to face Seiji. Seiji no Korin shouldered his blade in the reflection and gave a thumbs up to the young blond man. "Cool! Now do us both at once." Seiji walked around behind Minako and turned her hand so that the compact would reflect both teens. In the mirror, Seiji no Korin and Sailor V smiled and hugged. Seiji and Minako chuckled. "See?" Seiji said, "we're getting along great... Oh. My." The reflections began to kiss rather passionately. "Woah!" Minako blushed. "What do you call THAT, Seiji?" Seiji looked over at Minako and snaked his arms around her waist. "Well... how about a good idea?" ********** SHE LIVED. This was the one thought that bothered the corpulent youja lord known as Saranbo. He sat at long last on the throne of the entire Dynasty, and that was good, but Kayura and the Masho still breathed, and that was as bad as things could possibly get. SHE LIVED. And, when it came to Kayura, she who had once been known as the most lethal and dangerous of Arago's warriors, his Mistress of Pain, it was always wiser to ensure she was taken care of before relaxing. And taking care of Kayura, especially now, meant to kill her and bury her deep. Bury her twice, just to be sure, and each part in its own grave. The Masho? Saranbo couldn't RISK leaving enough of THEM to bury. His perfect plan, his allegiances with both Badamon and the Dark Kingdom, all in tatters... Because she lived. "But not for long..." he whispered, gently stroking his halberd and picturing a certain black haired pretty little head on the end of it. "No, not for long... I'll summon my troops, hunt her down, kill Kayura, kill the Masho, kill the Yoroiden..." He shrugged his armoured shoulders. "What the hell? Kill their little Senshi friends too." "It's good to be king..." TO BE CONTINUED...