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 7 : Spectres of the Past

	Kujuurou Sasaki slipped through the forest like a knife through
water, little more than a flicker of steel in the shadows as he 
raced across the trees. He had already been gone too long, he thought 
to himself as his armoured feet guided him from tree branch to stepping
stone to tree branch again, leading him onward to the castle of his 
Empress Kayura. 

	Stopping abruptly, he scanned his surroundings, sniffing the 
air as his keen eyes searched through the thick canopy above him. Fifty
kilometers in the last hour. He was getting slow in his old age. 
Ironically, he had to hope that he was fast enough to save the life of 
the very girl he had spent the past few days trying to kill. 

	He shrugged. Sadly, this was not exactly a new experience for 
the man known by many as Anubis, Masho of Darkness and Yoroiden of 
Yami. Just like the animal his brown and black yoroi resembled, The 
Black Jackal embodied the virtue of filial piety, the most loving and 
devoted of all his master's servants. 

	If only his master would make up her MIND! Kill the Yoroiden 
one day, work with them the next. Kill Sailor Saturn today, but protect
her tomorrow. Fight some woman named 'Beryl', and yet show sympathy to
her servants. It was enough to give any self-respecting Masho ulcers. 

	Anubis lifted the massive set of razor-edged steel claws that 
terminated his left gauntlet. Absently, he began to sharpen them as he 
caught his breath. Setsuna Meioh had told him that Sailor Saturn posed 
no threat to the Dynasty, and he trusted Setsuna Meioh. Hell, the girl 
was like a daughter to him : he'd appointed himself her parent ever 
since she was captured by Rajura at age ten. 

	Anubis stopped filing his claws and examined their gleam 
critically. He knew that Kayura was not a girl who judged men by their 
appearances, but he would not have his master think ill of him. He 
smiled as he remembered an instance some nine months prior : he and 
Naaza had been returning from a particularly bloody tour leading the 
vanguard of her armies against the forces of the Dark Kingdom. They 
had left the battlefield and run all the way back to the castle in 
under a week, because it was December 12, and they didn't want to 
miss their leader's birthday. They had been battered, beaten, 
exhausted, and suffering from hundreds of injuries, both internal and 
external, but by Kauso they had been the two best looking men there! 
Her smiles and pleasure had been worth it, and she had never once 
suspected that two of the Masho leading her party had been half-dead. 

	He put away the file and took a deep breath. Memories and 
appearances aside, he had to warn Kayura of the error of her ways. He 
owed Setsuna that much. He owed Setsuna's lover even more, although the
snot-nosed little bastard was probably laughing his ass off down in the
Underworld at the thought of it. He tensed to leap, and froze. Bracing 
himself, he took another deep breath, and another. He smelled... 
flowers. Lilacs, to be more precise : it was the scent of Kayura's 
favorite perfume. With a curious shrug, he changed direction. Every 
old dog knew enough to follow his nose, and Anubis was no different. 

**********

	The gaunt and tall figure of Badamon, wrapped tightly in his 
tattered robes, floated over the seething mass of chanting Ankoku 
Priests. From each rose an aura of crackling energy, floating into his 
own form and filling him with a power he had felt but rarely before. 

	"The time is nearly right, my faithful!" Badamon's eerie voice
wormed its way through the huddled Priests, each of whom barely even 
registered a response. "Soon, the portals to the Underworld shall be 
opened, and our lord and master shall be with us once more!" 

	And, he added silently, he could finally be rid of that foul 
and coarse Saranbo dolt. The youja had made too many mistakes, not the 
least of which was letting Kayura and her Masho escape the taking of 
their castle. Soon, though, all would be right and orderly, and his 
master would once more lead them into the Earth Realm on their 
glorious quest for power and dominance. 

	"Soon," he whispered, "our lord Arago will return. The time 
draws near, his castle is ours... all we need... is a sacrifice." 
Badamon grinned mirthlessly as he stroked his chin. "And I believe 
our master has developed a taste for those Yoroiden fools... yes."

	"I'm certain Ryo Sanada will be to his liking..."

**********

	Makoto Kino vaulted over a large tree root, somersaulted, and 
landed with a slight bounce. "Thank you, thank you! And the crowd goes
wild!"

	Rei Hino stared at the tall brunette and shrugged. "What was 
that for? I'm the only person for a hundred miles. And I REALLY don't 
care." 

	Makoto sighed in exasperation. "Rei, I want to make a good 
impression when we finally get ahold of one of the Yoroiden!"

	"No," Rei corrected her, "you just want to GET AHOLD of 
one of the Yoroiden. Touma Hashiba, in particular."

	Makoto grinned. "You got that right. Jealous?" Rei flushed, and
her friend began to chuckle. "Maybe you want to get ahold of a certain 
Yoroiden yourself, eh? Am I right?"

	Rei's face began turning almost as red as her skirt. "MAKOTO! 
I told you, Shin and I are just friends!" 

	Makoto raised an eybrow and placed her hands on her hips. 
"Mmm-hmm. Yeah, sure. This is the face of me believing you." 

	"We are!" Rei protested. "Although," she added after a moment's
thought, "I suppose he IS kind of kawaii... and when he speaks 
English..." Sailor Mars shuddered. "Oooh, he has the CUTEST accent!" 

	Makoto ducked under a tree branch. "Hey, don't sell ME on him! 
I've already got one of my own, remember? I'm not out to collect the 
whole set..." 

	Rei laughed. "The Yoroiden Samurai Troopers : I guess every 
girl should have one!" 

**********

	Setsuna Meioh remembered. She was eighteen years old, and she 
had served her lord Arago well. For eight years, she had been his 
personal Oracle : tell us where the Yoroiden are, Setsuna, so we can 
lay a trap for them. Tell us where the Jewel of Life is, Setsuna, so 
we can steal it before the Yoroiden do. Setsuna, we're so bloody 
incompetent our trap backfired : would you mind telling us where the 
Yoroiden are again? Now her days as a plaything had ended. 

	She looked down to make sure it was still there. Grasped in 
her hand, it seemed to throb with the key to her power's full 
potential, and she simply HAD to tell somebody. She still wasn't sure 
how or why that cat had given it to her, or even how the thing had 
snuck into her cell, but she didn't care. 

	There he was! Running a bit faster, and looking from side to 
side in case she was being watched, Setsuna grabbed her lover by the 
elbow. "Come with me! You won't believe what I found!" 

	The Masho shrugged and followed. "Actually," he whispered, "I 
have uncovered some rather interesting facts myself..." Together, they
ducked into an empty room. "You first," he said, and gestured. 

	"Well..." Setsuna looked nervous. "I don't really know how 
to explain this, other than... PLUTO CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!" There 
was a blast of energy, and she pirouetted in her gleaming sailor fuku. 
"Look! I'm... Sailor... Pluto! Guardian of Time!" 

	The man grinned. "Cute. I like the skirt." 

	Sailor Pluto laughed and twirled into the man's arms. "And it's
all because of you, my love! I know I never could have done this 
without you!" 

	"Setsuna..." The Masho smiled again as he ran his armoured 
fingers through her green hair. "I've told you : you need to learn to 
have more faith in yourself! I'm sure you'll make a great Sailor Pluto.
Because Setsuna Meioh is the best at everything she tries, right?"

	The girl giggled and held her lover tight. "Everything, my 
love. I'll be perfect, just for you." After looking up, she smiled and 
ran her fingers through his long red hair. "What happened to your 
helmet, dear?"

	"That's actually part of my story : Arago sent me to battle 
Touma no Tenku and Ryo no Rekka..."

	"And well he should! You're his bravest, wisest, most talented 
Masho!" 

	"Yes, well, Touma managed to... well, he shot off my helmet." 

	Setsuna laughed and kissed her savior. "Oh! What am I going to 
do with you?"

**********

	Setsuna Meioh sighed as she stared into her cup of coffee, or 
at least whatever passed for it in the Dynasty. In the ripples of her 
drink, the man proceeded to show her younger self exactly what to do 
with him, and she smiled bitterly. It was one of her power's curses : 
she could remember the past, literally see it anytime she wanted, but 
she could never do anything to disrupt her timeline. She could open a 
window to the man she loved, but the door was forever locking her out. 
Supressing a curse, she tossed the black sludge into a nearby bush. 

	"Oh, Shutendoji..." Setsuna murmured. "Why did you have to 
leave me? Why couldn't you have just let someone else save the world, 
for once?"

	Ami Mizuno looked over and shrugged. Setsuna was getting in one
of her moods again : they had been getting more and more frequent ever 
since coming to the Dynasty. It was obvious she had some kind of 
connection to the Yoroiden and the Masho, but Ami had decided against 
finding out what. She had a feeling she didn't want to know, anyway. 

	"Setsuna?" Sailor Mercury walked over to her friend. "Setsuna, 
we've recieved reports from almost all of our scouting teams. Except 
for Ryo and Hotaru, they've all found absolutely nothing." 

	"Hotaru?" Sailor Pluto snapped out of her trance and looked 
over at Sailor Mercury. "What have Hotaru and Ryo found? One of the 
Yoroiden scouting parties?"

	"Yes and no..." Ami winced. "It seems they've found a rather 
large group of youja. I told them we'd go reinforce them."

**********
	
	Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter had been walking all day, and, 
as Rei Hino would quickly attest, high heels were NOT suited for hiking
at all. Makoto's ankle boots were holding up a little better, but 
she still agreed rather quickly to a rest stop. Her feet felt like 
they had been ironed flat. Hell, the brunette thought as she leaned 
against a tree, she was practically numb from the knees down. 

	It was almost enough, she thought, to make her take up smoking 
again. Three years ago, she never would have had the wind for a hike 
like this. Of course, three years ago, she wasn't Sailor Jupiter, was 
she? She had just been Makoto Kino, another delinquent gang member who 
was practically on a first name basis with every member of the police 
force. Now, she was one of the destined protectors of the entire 
planet. Not a bad trade-off, she decided with a grin, no matter how 
much her feet hurt. 

	Rei sat as well, but stood up just as quickly, yelling things 
no self-respecting Shinto priestess would ever get caught saying. With
a pained grimace, she reached behind her and pulled free a familiar 
-and sharp- golden arrow. Makoto looked impressed, Rei thought, but 
if she got her hands on Touma Hashiba, she was going to give him a 
little talk about leaving arrows on the ground where people can 
sit on them. 

	"Rei! That's from the Sho Ha Kyu!" Makoto leapt to her feet, 
hands clasped in front of her. "That means Touma must be nearby!" 

	"It also," Rei cursed, "means he's shedding these things. 
Stupid piece of - !" Sailor Mars stretched back and hurled the arrow 
into the bushes. There was a loud rustling noise, followed by what 
sounded like a chainsaw fanatic showing off his collection. 

	"Rei?" Makoto asked with an audible gulp, "does that hill over
there look a lot like... paper?" 

	Rei blinked and looked again at the large mass she had just 
stabbed. "Uhm... yeah. Makoto? What would live in a giant paper nest?" 

	"GIANT WASPS!" On cue, the swarming mass of yellow hornets, 
each at least the size of a large dog, took to the air like a swirling 
tornado of wings, mandibles, and stingers like knitting needles. Only 
sharper.

**********

	Shin Mouri sighed in relief as he sank into the steaming waters
of the hot spring. Naaza had been generous enough to remove the poison
from these waters so everybody could have a nice soak, especially the 
Empress Kayura and Princess Usagi Tsukino. Frankly, Shin was pretty 
sure Naaza wouldn't share a cold unless someone made him, but the 
Yoroiden of Suiko had a few tricks of his own when it came to water.

	He winced as a faint buzzing sound filled his ears. It sounded 
like the deathjacket wasps were hunting something again, he thought as
he reached over for the small stereo headphones sitting on the edge of 
the rocky pool. Yesterday, the Yoroiden had enjoyed a rather fiesty 
skirmish with them after Usagi accidently hurled a rock at Rajura and 
hit their nest instead. Shuu had done well, and actually ate a few of 
the creatures he killed, as had Kayura and Naaza. So had Usagi, but 
only until someone told her what it was. She had then turned an 
interesting shade of green and excused herself for a few minutes. 

	Shin put on the headphones and began to listen. It was his 
favorite band, which was why he had suggested one of their songs at 
the dance last... week? He winced as he heard the opening of the 
first song. It was one of the ones he liked, but it seemed a little too
fitting at the moment.

	"I stayed awake for hours again last night,
	Searching for a reason to keep up the fight.
	I've made choices I don't regret, 
	But I've got problems I don't get...

	I didn't want to carry the heavier load, 
	You can't always take the middle road.
	There comes a time when you make up your mind 
	And the point gets left behind..."

**********

	Makoto shrieked as she ducked under a tree branch and felt the 
lead wasp's stinger scratch along her back, tearing through the fabric
of her fuku. She had lost Rei a few minutes ago, and hoped the 
girl was doing well. Tripping, she splashed into a small stream and 
came up spitting and gasping for air. The wasps were tenacious, diving 
and stabbing with their stingers one moment, chomping at her with their
scissor-like jaws the next. One had even tried to land on her back and 
bite out her eyes. A quick and desperate maneuver had seperated Makoto
from the bow at her waist, and the wasp of its head. 

	She must have killed at least ten of the things, she thought as
yet another of the giant insects tore open her arm with its serrated 
jaws. Turning quickly, she punched it right in the compound eyes, and 
staggered to her feet to keep running. There were at least five of the
things left, she thought, and she didn't want to know what happened if 
they caught her. Ms. Hinako had made her give a presentation on wasps, 
and Makoto knew exactly what they did to their prey. It sounded like 
something out of a horror movie, and she wanted nothing to do with 
it in person. 

	She just had to keep running.

**********

	Oh, let's wait - one more day for the conversation,
	One more day to make it right.
	Let's get away from the confrontation
	One more day just buying time...

**********

	The figure hurtled through the air at a reckless pace. On his 
forehead, a single kanji burned with cold fire, even in the darkness 
and shadows of the tree canopy. He wasn't even sure quite why he was 
doing it : something was compelling him to keep moving, no matter 
what. 

	He checked the weapon on his back with a free hand. It was 
still there, the smooth wood and rough cord as familiar to his hands 
as a man's wife : the weapon he had taken hunting with him. He wished 
he had something more... the buzzing sound made him think he might 
need it. 

**********

	For years and years you can drift along, 
	And write another verse to an endless song. 
	Wait one more day 'till the time is right : 
	Hoping that you both see the light. 

***********

	Makoto was still running as something whirred past her ear. 
For a second, she thought that one of the wasps had struck again : 
there was a faint stinging sensation along the side of her face. 
Instead, she heard the same strange sound again, and again, zipping 
past her, and accompanied by what almost sounded like someone playing a
harp. Although, given the circumstances, this was a much better sound. 

	Makoto fell to her knees in the grassy clearing as Touma 
Hashiba launched his last arrow through the neck of the final wasp. She
looked up and gasped. The sun was just beginning to set behind him, and
the young man was surrounded with a halo of light. The kanji of "Chi" 
glowed on his forehead as he lowered his bow and let it rest against 
his thigh. He was dressed in hakama, the pleated, baggy pants of the 
samurai, and a green headband holding his ragged blue hair out of 
his eyes. And that was all, unless you counted his leather gloves. 

	"Jupiter..." Touma said with a voice like a bell, "I'm sorry 
I'm so late..."

	Sailor Jupiter was having trouble breathing. She had always 
known that Touma was 'cute', but now she was forcibly upgrading him 
to 'oh my!'. He was... glorious, emerging from the bushes like some
kind of young forest god. And she suddenly felt very kawaikune. Her 
hair was bedraggled, her fuku was torn, she was sweating and bleeding 
and panting like some kind of out of shape dog... how could this 
gorgeous man possibly see in her? 

	Touma swallowed dryly. Makoto had never looked better to him. 
Her hair spilled free down her back like a frothy chocolate waterfall 
(he was glad he had remembered that little phrase), and she was glowing
beautifully. Her fuku was torn in a few revealing places, and her chest
was heaving, but Touma tried to be gentleman enough to ignore those 
things. He didn't succeed, but at least he tried. She had been injured,
he noticed, and he dropped the bow, stepping forward and reaching 
towards her.

	"Makoto," he tried cautiously, "I want to tell you about Sailor
Saturn, and everything... I'm..."

	The girl stood up and walked over to him, pressing her finger 
against his lips. "Ryo and Seiji already explained everything. I'm 
just glad you're all right." She smiled sadly.

**********

	Oh, let's wait one more day for the conversation,
	One more day to make it right.
	Let's get away from the confrontation
	One more day of buying time...

**********

	Makoto closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Touma. Dear 
lord, he thought to himself, she feels even better than she looks. He 
caught a faint whiff of her perfume as he buried his face in the crook
of her neck. She smelled even better than she felt. He gently rubbed 
her back and began to rock her back and forth. 

	"Oh, Touma! I thought those things had me for sure!" Makoto
tightened her grip a little and felt the muscles of his back tense 
under her fingers as he returned the squeeze. "How did you find me?"

	"I can't explain, Mako-chan. I just know that I can." Touma 
felt Makoto press against him and was pretty sure he was going to 
explode if this kept up. "I could find you anywhere, Makoto Kino. I 
could find you in the dark."

	Makoto looked into Touma's big brown eyes. "That's so sweet," 
she whispered, and gently brushed her lips against his own. 

	Touma felt like a bolt of lightning had just struck him as 
Makoto kissed him. He wasn't really sure where to go from here : he'd 
never had ANY girl kiss him before, let alone one who could probably 
kick his ass. He licked his lips and exhaled shakily. Her lipstick, 
he noticed, was a very sweet flavour, almost like cherries. 

**********

	I'm not afraid to be alone...
	I'm not afraid to be alone...

**********

	Makoto placed her forehead against Touma's, a glowing four 
appearing between her bangs and pressing against the blue sigil on 
Touma's head. She smiled nervously. Usually, this was where he was 
supposed to kiss her back... she was waiting... 

	Oh, screw it, his time was up. She noticed he was about to lick
his lips again, and, leaning forward impulsively, she did it for him. 

	Touma felt Makoto's tongue rasp across his lips and was 
sure he was going to die. Then, as her mouth settled over his own and 
he felt her tongue scraping past his teeth, he was fairly certain he 
already WAS dead. This was pretty much HIS definition of heaven... 
She tasted even better than she smelled, he decided, but he wasn't 
being very scientific about proving it. He should gather some extra 
samples, just for comparison's sake... 

**********

	Shin looked up with vague amusement as a black-haired girl in a
red fuku screeched out of the bushes and hit the water like a torpedo. 
Close behind her, a swarm of deathjacket wasps buzzed in frustration. 
Just like their smaller cousins, these insects couldn't enter the water
to attack their target. Shin was just glad he had already gotten 
out of the bath : Sailor Mars may have been embarassed, otherwise. 

	Zipping up his jeans, Shin grabbed the massive trident he had 
left leaning against a nearby tree and almost idly pointed it at the 
giant wasps. "BUSSO, SUIKO!" 

	"And, while we're at it : SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" The newly 
armoured Shin no Suiko smiled as a raging torrent of water blasted from
the tines of his Suiko Yari and sent all six wasps spinning into the 
stratosphere. After taking a moment to admire his handiwork, the young 
man waded into the pool and dove down after Sailor Mars, who had gotten
tangled in some weeds and was turning almost as blue as his yoroi. 

	Rei felt someone tapping her shoulder and looked over, risking 
opening one eye. She could barely make out a blurry figure in bulky 
armour reaching for her. A youja! Thrashing wildly, she tried to get 
away, but whatever it was, it easily overpowered her, pinning her back 
against the muddy bottom of the pool. The creature leaned in close, and
its metal faceplate scraped against her lips. To her surprise, a blast
of fresh oxygen rushed out of its mouth and into her own. 

	Rei sighed and stopped struggling as Shin breathed evenly into 
her mouth. With his hands, he drew the dagger from its scabbard in his 
shoulder and quickly sawed through the reeds tangled around her legs. 
There! She was free! Shin waited for a second, then blinked in 
confusion. She was free... why wasn't she swimming away? Instead, the 
girl was staring at him with an odd look in her eyes as her raven hair 
floated around her head like an inky cloud, swirling in the currents of
the water. He shrugged, and pointed up. 

	Sailor Mars nodded and kicked off, rocketing towards the 
surface of the pool. After all, she needed to have a long talk with 
Shin about Sailor Saturn and his friends. Among other things, she 
decided, he had essentially thrown her down and kissed her, and she 
would have to make it very clear to him that they were just friends, 
and he shouldn't take such liberties... without telling her first.

**********

	Reaching up, Makoto cupped Touma's face in her gloved hands as 
she pulled back slightly and kissed him again, primly pressing her lips
against his. Then she did it again, only slightly harder. After another
few seconds, she seperated from him slightly. She was breathing pretty 
hard, and pretty sure she was blushing. 

	"Uhm," she cleared her throat, "that was something else, wasn't
it?" When she got no response from her boyfriend, Makoto looked down 
at him. "Touma?" Still nothing. Makoto began to worry. She'd never 
really done anything like that before... had she gone too far? Had she 
done it wrong, somehow? "Touma... aren't you going to say anything?" 
The tall brunette stepped back, releasing the blue-haired boy from 
her embrace. His knees buckled, and he promptly slumped to the ground. 
He had... fainted? Makoto smiled. Well, she'd take that as a 
compliment...

**********

	Kayura looked up and smiled as the gleaming form of her chief 
lieutenant burst through the underbrush. "Anubis! However did you 
find us? And where have you been? Your Empress had need of you."

	The man in the brown and black yoroi removed his helmet and 
bowed, touching his forehead to the ground. "My apologies, Empress. I 
have been tracking the Sailor Senshi who invaded our realm, and regret 
that these duties kept me from your side. I have vital information 
which must be shared with you." He took a deep breath. "I have learned 
that the Sailor Senshi are not our enemies, and never were. I can only 
assume we have been decieved by the Dark Kingdom." 

	"Actually," Rajura said with a chuckle, "this is all old news 
to us. And for your information, Saranbo is behind this, not the Dark 
Kingdom. He besieged Kayura's castle a few days ago, and we barely 
escaped with our lives." 

	"No." Anubis shook his head. "Saranbo could not possibly be 
behind this. He has no idea who the Sailor Senshi are, or even that 
they exist. He may have come up with the plan to destroy us, but I'm 
certain that the Dark Kingdom must be behind this."

	"Please!" Naaza snarled. "Rajura is the expert at deception 
here. He says it's Saranbo, so it's Saranbo. You don't actually claim 
to know more about espionage than Rajura, do you Anubis?"

	"Wait." Rajura closed his one eye and appeared to be lost in 
thought. "Anubis raises an interesting point. We are all so accustomed 
to looking for threats to Kayura, it never occured to us that this 
might actually be an attack on the Senshi as well. The Dark Kingdom has
good reason to hate the Senshi, and with Kayura out of power, their 
war against the Dynasty would fare much better. Saranbo may just be a 
part of their master plan, a puppet ruler at best." 

	Anubis growled. "Saranbo has sold us out to the Dark Kingdom. 
We should have known his ambition would lead him to our oldest enemy." 
Standing at attention, he drew his sword and turned to Kayura. "My 
Empress, how many pieces do you want his body in?"

	The young girl in the black armour of Oni looked strangely grim
as she responded. "Exactly as many as I can cut him into, Anubis. This 
traitor shall be MINE to execute." 

**********

	Saranbo reclined against his massive throne. After nearly ten 
thousand years, he was at long last back where he belonged : the 
Dynasty was his once more. THIS, he had tried so hard to explain to his
fellow youja lords, was the way to regain their rule from Arago. Not 
through challenges and duels like that fool Kenbukyou, the 
self-proclaimed Lord Saber Strike, had lost his life and his Fervor 
Swords in, but patience and subtlety. All things came, to the demon 
that waited. 

	Badamon had been strangely absent lately, but Saranbo couldn't
bring himself to care overly much. The ghoulish old priest was a dolt 
and a deluded old fool, obsessed with raising his master Arago from 
the Underworld. As if Saranbo planned to let that happen, when he 
was finding Arago's throne so comfortable. 

	The massive doors at the end of the throne room blew open, 
slamming against the walls as a familiar form marched through them. 
Spit-polished leather boots rapped on the marble floor as the young 
man brushed a piece of non-existent lint off of his spartan grey 
uniform. The only relief to the slate coloured jacket and pants was 
a thin line of red trim. 

	"Ah! Our associate from the Dark Kingdom has come to pay 
his respects to the ruler of the Dynasty?" Saranbo chuckled. 

	The imperious young man sniffed. "Why," he said coldly, "is she
still alive?"

	"You mean Kayura? I have troops scouring the entire Dynasty for
her even as we speak. Come! Have a glass of wine..."

	"No," the man snarled, "not Kayura. Sailor Moon. Our deal, or 
'arrangement', as you so stubbornly insist on calling it, was that I 
would arrange for your Yoroiden and Masho to be taken out of the way, 
and you would arrange for them to kill the Sailor Senshi. The Sailor 
Senshi still live, Saranbo. I have come to let you beg for your life."

	Saranbo sighed and stood. "Now, now, my old friend. You're just
being a little cranky... getting locked in a block of ice can do that 
to a man, you know. Have faith in me! Hmmm? Who rescued you from the 
void? Who helped you conquer the Dark Kingdom?" 

	The man sneered, and ran one hand through his short blond hair.
"And who swore he would help me get my revenge? Who has failed me on 
every occasion?" With a cold look of distaste, the handsome fellow 
tightened his white gloves. "I've come to take a personal hand in this,
Saranbo. From now on, I shall handle the operations of this manhunt." 
An aura of crackling black energy surrounded his gloved hand. "And, 
if you have a problem with that... you can always abdicate." 

	Saranbo snorted. "You're being impatient, my ally. The Yoroiden
Samurai Troopers and the Masho..."

	"Can be yours to do with as you please, Saranbo." Jaedite 
grinned ruthlessly. "But the Senshi are MINE. Two years in the void 
gives a man time to think. And time to practice hating. I have... 
SPECIAL plans in mind for those... girls."

TO BE CONTINUED...