Fallen Stars: Chapter 6

    Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything 
that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my 
own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and 
original characters are mine. Please don't use them without 
permission.

***

                             Fallen Stars

              - A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -


    Chapter 6: Straw Beds vs. Silver Spoons! 
               The March Towards their Destiny.
    
    
    "Good morning," Rei said as she emerged from the tent. She 
stifled a yawn and weaved her way over to her friend who sat nearby.
    
    Ami looked back to her and smiled, but it didn't help disguise 
the bags under her eyes, or the fact that she hadn't changed out of 
the old school uniform that had become her pyjamas. "Good morning 
Rei-chan."
    
    "Did you manage to get to sleep in the end?" 
    
    Rei only asked out of politeness. It was obvious that what sleep 
the poor girl had managed to get hadn't lasted long, or been enough 
for her to give up trying to close her eyes.
    
    "A little," Ami replied. It was the truth, but she might as well 
have said nothing at all for everything it told Rei.  "I'll be okay. 
Studying for university entrance exams was worse."
    
    Rei sat down beside her, shaking her head as a small smile 
appeared on her lips. "Ami-chan, you aced those exams. Just like 
every other one you've ever taken."
    
    That little fact flustered Ami just a bit, and she looked away as 
she tried once again to justify her common sense. "I still had to 
study properly."
    
    That just made Rei smile more. "There's no hope for you Ami-chan, 
but that's the way we like you." She followed Ami's gaze to see 
Makoto in her nomadic garb, slowly beating Jiyu and Tachi into 
submission. Or rather, beating the wooden blocks they held into 
submission, and slowly taking their owners with them. "Talk about an 
early bird. She must have had her Weetabix already."
    
    Ami smiled. "Don't try feeding them to her though, she hates 
them." She sighed just a little bit and rested her head back on her 
arms, which she crossed over her knees. "I just find it therapeutic, 
watching her like this, when she's focused on what she is doing. 
Cooking as well. It's nice seeing someone happy when they're doing 
something they enjoy." Ami glanced in Rei's direction. "Like you were 
yesterday."
    
    Rei thought about that for a moment and nodded. It was only 
natural that the others had noticed after all. She and Makoto had 
barely seen them, and after travelling and living together for so 
long it must have made quite a difference. "You know Makoto and I 
have... sort of a thing now? Well, we're seeing if we like it that 
way around anyway."
    
    Ami just nodded, smiling. "I'm happy for you. You deserve it, 
both of you."

    Rei smiled and felt a little heat in her cheeks. Ami hadn't said 
much, but it had been more than sincere. "Thanks." She pulled her 
comb out from the folds of her shrine garb and started to run it 
though her hair, but to her surprise Ami laid a hand on her arm to 
stop her.
    
    "Leave it a little while," Ami said with a gentle, knowing look. 
    
    Rei decided not to argue the point. She had only just got up 
after all. She turned back to watch Makoto as the girl knocked one of 
the blocks out of Jiyu's hand. "You really think this is 
therapeutic?" she asked. "I'm getting exhausted just watching them."
    
    "Maybe. But you have to admit," Ami replied, "she looks like she 
is enjoying it."
    
    Rei took a second to watch properly. Sure enough, for as much as 
it looked like hard work, Makoto had a determined smile fixed firmly 
on her face. In fact, Rei had to admit that her girlfriend looked 
amazing that way.
    
    Girlfriend? Rei smiled inwardly at the thought. It sounded 
stupid, but she supposed that that was what Makoto was to her now. A 
tall, sweet, protective, garishly clad girlfriend. In some way it 
didn't seem real, but the romantic words Makoto had whispered to her 
had been real, and the kisses had been very real.
    
    Then within the blink of an eye Makoto's face was only inches 
from her own, "Rei? Are you staring or daydreaming in there?" 
    
    Rei jumped back with a startled squeak. "Wha.. uhh... A little of 
both I think..." Then she reached up to grab the neck of Makoto's 
leather vest and pulled her down a little more, into a brief but 
powerful kiss.
    
    Ami pointedly chose not to stare, but it was a difficult 
spectacle to miss. When Rei released her the raven haired young woman 
let out a deep breath. "Yes, very real."
    
    Makoto just blinked as she recovered from the sudden but pleasant 
attack. "Of course I'm real." Then she chuckled a little, "I guess I 
don't have to ask whether you've already told Ami-chan about us."
    
    Ami giggled as Rei paused and nodded. "Yes. You don't mind, do 
you? I mean she already knew so..."
    
    Makoto just shook her head and sat down with them, blushing a 
little herself. "I sort of told her before I told you," Makoto 
admitted. "I had to tell someone." Casually she took the comb from 
Rei's lap and shifted around beside her before beginning to work it 
through the shrine maiden's hair, as if it was the most natural thing 
to do right then. Rei gave Ami a thankful look, and Ami smiled in 
response. Makoto was too pleasantly occupied to notice the exchange, 
and her heart lifted when Rei leaned back into the touch. However, 
her voice betrayed her slight hesitation as she spoke. "Do you want 
to tell the others too?"
    
    "Well," Rei thought, "now's probably not the best time, but 
there's no point trying to hide it. No doubt Desir will blab the 
first chance she gets anyway."
    
    Ami nodded. "And it might give Minako-chan something else to 
think about as well."
    
    "Uh, Ami-chan, that's not really helping her case," Makoto 
replied. "I mean, I'd like to try this without Minako-chan meddling."
    
    "She's not that bad," Rei said in the blonde's defence. 'At least 
as long as she gets enough gossip,' she didn't add. From the way she 
had asked, Makoto probably wanted to keep it as just something for 
themselves, at least for now, while it was still early days. 
Obviously a nosey Minako wouldn't help that. After all, neither of 
them really knew what they were getting into with each other, but if 
Minako was in her usual spirits Rei thought she could probably deal 
with her. "It would make her feel better. I don't like thinking that 
she really wants to stay."
    
    Ami countered that as gently as she could. "I don't think that 
she wants to. I think that she is trying to be prepared, just in 
case."
    
    Any further discussion was halted when Juriere called over from 
their camp. "Girls! Breakfast is ready!"
    
    "Morning boys," they all greeted as they gathered by the re-lit 
fire, and Maki and Rin both said their hellos before tucking into 
what smelled suspiciously like bacon.
    
    "You must have slept very well," Rin said as Rei accepted her 
plate.
    
    "I did, thank you," Rei replied. It was odd to think that the 
reticent teenager was so willing to make friends with her, but that 
is exactly what he had done. He was one of the few nomads besides the 
children who didn't avert their eyes when she walked by. It didn't 
hurt that Kimiko was teaching Rei and Ami to shoot either!
    
    "Jiyu isn't joining us again?" Ami asked.
    
    This time Makoto was more informed than the young man's own 
family. "He and Tachi went off for more sword practice."
    
    Juriere nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised. Grandfather said that 
we would be leaving today, to march on the Comte's house. I would say 
that we are not leaving the shadow of this stone monster a moment too 
soon, if it wasn't to see my boys matching swords with that man's 
soldiers again."
    
    "We're going back to Lillium?" Rei asked, surprised. "That was 
several days' ride from here at best."
    
    Juriere nodded, handing Makoto her plate. "The people joining 
with us will meet us part way, and we will most likely meet the 
noble's soldiers a day or so from the city. If he doesn't already 
know what we are planning then he will soon. Still," she said, 
handing Ami a plate, "it is worth the risk to set the balance right 
again."
    
    Ami stammered a little as the plate was proffered to her. "I'm 
sorry Mrs. Juriere, but Master Daltass said I should only eat bread 
and water today."
    
    "That's nasty!" Maki exclaimed through his bacon.
    
    "Don't speak with your mouth full Maki," Juriere chided, "but I 
must agree Ami, that can't be healthy for a young woman like 
yourself. I would say you are too skinny as it is!"
    
    Ami didn't quite know how to respond to that. "It's just to keep 
my stomach from working too hard."
    
    Makoto nodded, "Warlock's orders."
    
    Juriere relented, taking the plate for herself. "I still don't 
like it. At least they didn't try to do anything unnatural to you 
dear."
    
    The girls just sighed, but none of them had the heart to try and 
change her mind about the Warlocks. She had been brought up on the 
horror stories just like every other nomad. If anything it showed how 
much faith they had in their elder that they had stayed at all.

***
    
    Minako hated being the fifth wheel, but all too often that was 
how she felt. At least, that's how it had been since leaving the 
tavern that had been her home for her early weeks in Seiji. It wasn't 
even as if there was anything they were doing that made them renowned 
as the Seraphi. Destiny moved, and they were pulled along for the 
ride. As Senshi they fought evil, risked their lives for the future 
and for their friends, and it made the scary journey satisfying. The 
newspapers might call them names from time to time, but they were 
heroes of a sort.
    
    As Seraphi what had they done? Fought and even killed a few 
soldiers who were just doing their jobs, been captured and held 
prisoner for no good reason, walked until even their toenails 
ached... And just sat around doing a lot of not-very-much. 
    
    Now was no different. The important people did their work, and 
the rest of them just waited, hoping that it would turn out for the 
best. Rei and Makoto were down with the nomads, and no doubt Ami 
would be taking more crossbow lessons. Even though she would likely 
never fire the weapon in anger. Haruka sat here in their dormitory 
with Master Daltass and some of the Warlocks, all linking hands in a 
circle, hoping that the crazy old wise man would find something 
special that could get them home. And Minako just sat watching them 
try. It was nice that everyone tried to find her things to do when 
they saw how bored she was, but she had long since passed the age 
where odd fetch and carry jobs were enough to keep her occupied.
    
    It was boring, but worse, it made her feel useless. The mangas 
had it wrong - adventuring wasn't fun. It relied on more than brave 
words, a good sword and a few puffs of smoke. In the end it was all 
research and politics and trying not to spend all your pocket money 
at once. It was like being back at school. Was it any wonder Minako 
hadn't followed her other friends on to higher education? Being 
Senshi made university difficult at best, the others could testify to 
that. Even back in middle school their own social groups had 
eventually dissolved because Senshi duty forced them to keep secrets 
and run out on their other plans. 
    
    The same was true here. If she hadn't been one of the Seraphi 
Minako could have made a life for herself, but Seraphi she was, so a 
normal life was out of the question. Hell, if she did stay would it 
make her any happier now that she had this image to live up to? Did 
she have any choice in the matter?
    
    She knew what the answer was, so she forced herself to stop 
thinking about it. It wasn't doing her any good anyway. Being 
miserable didn't suit her.
    
    "What does it feel like, Haruka-san?"
    
    Haruka looked up to her from their little circle. "Remember when 
he shook your hand? It's like that, only more so. It's slightly 
claustrophobic actually, having three other people inside you. We did 
it with *everyone* once and it really freaked me out."
    
    "Wow," Minako thought out loud, "really? It's like being squished 
up?"
    
    Haruka nodded. "Or like being pressed flat I guess. Usually I'm 
doing the same thing, so I don't notice it so much. It's not so 
intimate when it's just someone doing it to you though."
    
    Minako blinked before growing a cheeky little smile. It was 
tinged with melancholy, but not to the point that she felt upset or 
jealous about the issue. "Intimate? Are you sure you didn't make Ami-
chan pregnant?"
    
    To their joint surprise Master Daltass spoke, even though he 
didn't release the hands of the two female Warlocks that sat either 
side of him and Haruka in their circle. "Given how great a nausea the 
Art can instil, do you really believe Haruka could have done 
something so intricate and complicated without noticing?"
    
    Haruka nodded in agreement, sporting a rather deadpan expression. 
"Exactly. Don't you go hopping on that bandwagon Minako-chan. I 
couldn't even heal your cut without feeling sick."
    
    Minako sighed. It had been a cute idea. "So even you get sick 
Master Daltass?"
    
    The old sage nodded. "If I have to perform anything particularly 
taxing, though I am also skilled enough to delay the inevitable 
illness for a while."
    
    Minako let out a sympathetic mewl. "You guys are going to be real 
sick later then. You've being doing this for ages!"
    
    One of the other Warlocks came out of her trance, and the four of 
them finally broke hands. "Not this time Minako. The Art makes us 
sick only when we use it for unnatural purposes. It is as a mother 
will always say; look but do not touch."
    
    "Well someone's going to be ill," Haruka said with a raised 
eyebrow. "One of you did more than just browse through me."
    
    Daltass gave her a broad, impenetrable smile. "You know how it 
is. Sometimes you cannot resist!"
    
    "And he wonders why he has trouble sleeping," the other Warlock 
said with a shake of her head. "Now you've had enough fun for one 
morning Master. Let us get you some breakfast before lunch catches up 
to us."
    
    "Oh, uhh, wait!" Minako called as the young woman started to lead 
her head tutor away. She hesitated a little, but after waiting so 
long she wanted some kind of answer to their shared question. "Did 
you... find anything? To help us get home I mean."
    
    Daltass smiled at the girl and nodded, "Yes my dear, I believe we 
have found something of use buried inside Haruka's essence. I would 
like to try it with you as well to make sure it is a shared trait, 
but even just the one instance should be enough if my thinking is 
correct."
    
    Haruka and Minako's eyes widened. "You mean you can get us 
home?!" Haruka blurted out before Minako had a chance to ask.
    
    Daltass had to grin at their eagerness. "Not yet, and not by 
myself, but I think there is a way. If all goes to plan you should be 
home soon enough."
    
    "Haa haaaa!" Minako screamed in delight, almost tackling Haruka 
in a hug. "We can go home!!!"
    
    Haruka just looked down at her and nodded, her eyes misting 
slightly at the thought of seeing Hotaru and Michiru again.
    
    As they left the last warlock turned and bowed to them both, a 
slight blush covering her cheeks. "Haruka, it was a pleasure 
communing with you, as always."
    
    Haruka stepped away and bowed back, smiling handsomely. "With 
you, Miriam, it is always a pleasure."
    
    Miriam just returned the smile. "We will see you at lunch I hope, 
before we all depart."
    
    Haruka nodded. "One last meal here? I wouldn't miss it for the 
world."
    
    Minako looked up at Haruka with a capricious grin once the young 
woman had left. "I thought you said you didn't break any hearts 
here."
    
    "I didn't," Haruka replied. "She's married."
    
    Minako's only response was to blink. "Eh? But..."
    
    Haruka smiled and sat down on one of the bunks of the small 
women's dormitory. "Like I said, being inside someone for a long time 
can feel quite intimate, and she's always been very polite."
    
    Minako thought about the possible conclusion of that thought. 
"Having sex like that must really be something, huh?"
    
    Haruka lay back on the bed, her hands resting behind her head. 
"No kidding. I guess that's how some of them turned bad."
    
    Minako couldn't see the logic in that. "Why?"
    
    "It could probably get very addictive," Haruka replied seriously. 
"And getting addicted to the Art... Craving the intensity of being 
inside someone, being drawn to use that power in spite of the 
sickness... That's what makes a man a monster." Haruka shuddered. 
Even she had felt that pull. "The Art isn't about power. It's about 
learning, and feeling. Its power is there for when you *have* to use 
it, not when you want to."
    
    Minako watched with an aching heart as Haruka's brow furrowed, 
conflicting emotions running through the boyish woman. She stepped 
over and sat down, even as Haruka blinked away the threat of her 
tears. "Haruka-san, it's okay."
    
    Haruka sighed and forced her emotions away. To think that she was 
still working herself up like that. "Of course! I'm just thinking too 
much. I knew there was a reason I left all that to Michiru!"
    
    Minako giggled. "I see," she said, her smile calming into one 
that just radiated a peace that Minako had thought she had lost. "And 
we'll get to see her again soon. And Usagi-chan, and Mamoru-kun, and 
everyone. I hope they've been okay without us."
    
    Haruka chuckled at the thought, and Michiru's smiling image 
appeared in her mind again. "I'm sure Luna's keeping them in line. I 
feel sorry for that cat sometimes, putting up with us lot."
    
    "We're not the ones giving her grief," Minako retorted cheekily, 
"she does that all by herself!"
    
***
    
    After lunch the nomads had picked up and gone with all the 
efficiency that the girls had come to expect, and they found 
themselves once again riding along in the back of their own caravan. 
They had actually got used to spending so much time in there that it 
almost felt like a second home. The storage crates up by the front 
end were all the furniture they had, but that was normal now, as was 
the rocking underneath them, softened by the padded bench seats.
    
    Kimiko was none too impressed through. "No, I'm serious, I cannot 
believe that you, who are supposed to be the almighty Seraphi, are 
kept back with the storage!"
    
    Makoto shrugged. "It's not like the rest of you have much spare 
room Kimiko, and at least this way we're all together."
    
    Naturally with over half the Warlock cabal alongside them changes 
had been made to the travel arrangements, which, among other things, 
left Jiyu having to drive his family's caravan, and Kimiko without 
her horse. Even at her young age she rode a full grown mount, but 
that was better put to use carrying the Warlock Miriam and her 
husband. Both could ride, and Kimiko was not about to share a horse 
with a Warlock, no matter what Makoto and Ami said in their defence.
    
    Makoto had actually spent most of the time that early afternoon 
in conversation with the young scout and sniper. Kimiko wasn't one of 
the girls she had ever spent much time with when the nomads had first 
taken her in. Now, knowing that Rin had an interest in her, Makoto 
had been making sure to pay more attention when Kimiko was around. 
She could see why he was interested in her too. While she was 
attractive enough to be considered one of the prime catches among the 
girls, the pair of them were also far too serious for their own good. 
For different reasons, but who knew? Makoto thought that they might 
make a nice pair, even if Rin was a little young yet. 
    
    Then again, she had been chasing after one particular suitor like 
a mad girl when she was his age, and had done everything she could to 
make him notice her. Who was she to talk?
    
    However, Makoto and Kimiko really had very little in common when 
it came to making conversation, and she also had another reason to 
avoid talking to her friends. She had asked Rei to leave it to her 
when telling Minako and Haruka about the two of them, and Makoto was 
a master procrastinator. Almost as good as Minako and Usagi were. 
Still, Kimiko's taciturn personality meant that she could only put it 
off for so long. Especially since it looked like Rei was wondering if 
she would ever get to it at all.
    
    "Listen, guys?" she finally said, once silence had taken over 
again. "I guess I'd better tell you before you get suspicious 
anyway."
    
    Haruka smiled, half knowing what to suspect. After the last few 
days it had been difficult for her to miss. "Tell us what Mako-chan?"
    
    "Well..." Makoto hesitated, blushing half in happy embarrassment 
and half at how stupid it sounded. "With everything that's happened, 
me and Rei are sort of going out now."
    
    Minako blinked, missing the point for a second. "Going out where? 
Wha..!?! You two?!" She all but screeched. "Going out as in..?" she 
crossed her fingers to finish the question.
    
    "Uhh... yeah, that's the one," Rei said with a sigh. She had 
hoped for a somewhat less over the top coming out, but it would do.
    
    Haruka nodded, giving the pair a grin. "I did wonder."
    
    Minako whipped her head around to Haruka. "You knew and you 
didn't tell me?"
    
    Haruka felt a drop of sweat roll down her temple as she raised 
her hands to placate the young blonde. "It really wasn't my place. 
And besides, it was only a hunch. People keep saying my hunches don't 
work as well as most girls'."
    
    Minako just 'hmph'ed, making her friends giggle a little. "So 
guys, since when were either of you gay anyway?" her brow furrowed. 
"Maybe there's something in the water here."
    
    Kimiko just stared at them all, more than a hint of suspicion in 
her eyes. "Do you mean that the two of you are... lovers?"
    
    Rei blushed red and stammered. "Well, no, I mean... not yet. 
Maybe." It didn't help that the idea was one she was rapidly growing 
to like, in spite of the fact that it still seemed as much of a 
friendship as anything else that she felt for Makoto.
    
    Makoto found herself blushing at the thought too, but her ideas 
on what it was she really wanted were a lot more certain than Rei's. 
"I'm still trying to woo her, but I think I'm doing okay so far!"
    
    She looked over to Rei next to her and gave her a smile, trying 
to mix in a little of Haruka's rakish charm with her own nervous 
feelings. Thankfully it seemed to work and Rei gave her a small smile 
back before she realised what she was doing, and turned away with a 
comical 'humph', her nose in the air. "Well, you aren't doing too 
badly at least."
    
    Kimiko just frowned a little. "You people get more curious by the 
day."
    
    Makoto turned back to her. "I know it's not exactly normal here, 
but sometimes you just find yourself feeling a certain way, even if 
it's not the way most people think you're supposed to."
    
    Kimiko's frown deepened at that, but not out of disapproval. She 
wasn't exactly shaping up to be the home maker that most women in her 
camp became, or that most men wanted to come home to. There was no 
doubt now that, whoever these people were and no matter how strange 
or alien they might seem, the respect that she owed them had been 
properly earned. "So how did you, decide to choose the company of 
women over men?" she finally asked, curious about Minako's question 
herself.
    
    Makoto looked down at the wooden floor and shrugged. "I don't 
know. I just know she means more to me than I thought."
    
    Rei smiled again. "And I could probably live with a girl if she 
was the right one. So I'm giving Makoto her chance. She's more than 
earned it," she said, taking Makoto's hand and drawing a smile out of 
the tall girl.
    
    Minako sighed. "And I didn't even get to spy on you keeping 
secrets. Party poopers."
    
    Rei just stuck out her tongue and soon she and Minako were acting 
like they were fourteen again. Ami just smiled watching it all. 
Everyone was getting on again. Knowing that there was a real plan to 
get them home could do that, she guessed.
    
    "How has Ami been doing in her lessons?" Haruka asked Kimiko as 
Rei and Minako blew raspberries at each other.
    
    Kimiko regarded the handsome young woman with caution. 'More 
curious by the day,' she thought to herself again before answering. 
"She is a very capable student, if rather timid with the trigger. A 
little more practice tonight, without the aid of her powers, and she 
will be ready for tomorrow's battle."
    
    Haruka nodded. "That sounds like Ami-chan. Thank you for looking 
after her."
    
    Ami had to force down her small blush and smiled, but quickly 
changed the subject. "You are a very good teacher Miss Kimiko. After 
this is all over, will you take up teaching the children here?"
    
    Kimiko nodded. "Most probably. I am little good for anything else 
besides planning and fighting under my father. However, what I lack 
in skills I will make up for in success at my work."
    
    "Hmm," Makoto pondered out loud. "Maybe I should tell Rin. I 
think he'd love some lessons."
    
    "Rin?" Kimiko asked in surprise. "I would doubt it. His sword is 
his passion, just like his father and that hard headed Tachi."
    
    "I don't know," Rei replied, following Makoto's lead. "Rin is 
dedicated to protecting you all. I don't think he would look down on 
another skill that would let him do that."
    
    Kimiko conceded to that. "Dedicated? That he is. He will grow to 
be a master swordsman one day. If he does manage to avoid his 
brothers' obsessions with riding and take up archery instead, then I 
would pity the man, no matter who he was, that had to face him in 
battle."
    
    The girls smiled at the respect Kimiko seemed to have for the 
boy's potential. "You think very highly of him," Ami voiced.
    
    Kimiko hesitated before nodding. "If he were to ask for tutelage, 
I would not turn him away."

***
    
    Ami looked out across the crowd that had gathered before them, 
shouting and cheering as they bellowed out their grievances for their 
fellow men to hear. Proclamations of hardship, imagined wrongs or 
rallying cries - it didn't matter how honest their calls for justice 
were, or their desires to return to the time before politics had 
taken precedence over simple and fair governing. Ami knew that when 
forty thousand people all cried out together they would follow their 
own path, no matter what they might have thought as individuals.
    
    Forty thousand. In modern terms it wasn't much at all, but 
looking out at them all, rallied together from across the lowlands by 
the nomads' agents, it was enough to take away Ami's breath. Forty 
thousand men and women who had brought what weapons they had, ready 
to stand up to the prevailing rulers, and the professional warriors 
who carried out their word. 
    
    Up to now she and her friends had just been following along the 
path that had been laid out for them, riding with whoever had 
declared themselves their allies at that time. It was this hoard of 
peasantry, workmen, farmers and merchants, wielding their pitchforks, 
clubs, swords and bows, that made everything that had come before 
pale into insignificance. This wasn't just their stumbling attempts 
to get home any more.
    
    This was history in the making.
    
    The girls all watched in awe as the assembled throng slowly 
noticed the presence of those they had all travelled so far to meet. 
The nomads were unmistakable in their brightly coloured leathers, and 
the people had been told who else they should expect to be there. Who 
else could the cloaked figures be but Warlocks, feared and respected 
across the country. And with them five women from the world of the 
gods.
    
    Master Daltass wasted no time in dismounting his horse, and 
lowered his hood before addressing their companions in arms. 
"People!" he called, his voice echoing across the field. "We meet 
here today to decide the fate of this province of ours, and in turn 
that of our beloved Seiji. No matter our differences, from serf and 
slave to artisan to Warlock, we come together in common cause because 
those who rule on behalf of our emperor now do so in lip service 
only! These last months have seen our noble families no longer 
concerned with the welfare of those who live upon the land, but only 
for their own names and the prestige their wealth has given them. 
    
    "The working men and women of the land have had yet more coin 
demanded of them, with no service provided in return! The craftsman 
has been called to outfit our country's army beyond his means to 
work, and those of us who live freely see our reputations spoiled and 
our freedoms taken by force. And finally, as the Seraphi have 
desired, we will see our most dutiful workers, the serfs and slaves, 
given the freedom to choose their own fate when their dues have been 
paid, and not kept as animals for generations simply for being born 
into servitude!"
    
    Each proclamation drew a cheer from the crowd larger than the one 
before, even as they fell further from what most of the people truly 
held dear to their own hearts. Only a fraction of the mob would be 
slaves and serfs that had deserted their masters and the lands they 
were tied to, but it was a just cause. The nomads had done well in 
stirring the crowd, and now any just cause was reason to continue. 
What it was didn't matter.
    
    "And," Daltass continued in his booming voice, "we know that 
these are the wishes of the Seraphi, for those great founders have 
sent their own daughters back to us, to guide us in this time of 
confusion and corruption!"
    
    He opened his arms, showing the girls off to the crowd. "Their 
favoured children, each given to one of our own peoples! Makoto, sent 
to the wandering peoples, to embrace their nature and freedom! 
Minako, sent to bring joy to those who labour so that we might eat 
and drink well! Rei, she who is both slave and master, to bring us 
hope and to show us that we can remain strong no matter the hardship! 
Haruka, given to us Warlocks to keep us honest, and remind us that 
our power was given to us, above all else, in the service of life - 
both new and old. And Ami, given to the noblemen themselves! Her 
wisdom and intellect could have kept them on the path of honesty and 
integrity, and yet they sought only profit from her gifts!"
    
    The cries from the crowd were deafening, but it was clear to see 
why Master Daltass had introduced them the way he had. Ami wore her 
specially made samurai armour, mark enough of the noble soldiers, and 
both Makoto and Minako still wore the clothes they had become so 
attached to since having been given them. Haruka now knew why her 
teacher had insisted she wear a cowl over her travelling clothes!
    
    As the crowd cheered Minako leaned over to Master Daltass. "You 
should have been in show business," she said, impressed at the way he 
had got the crowd going again.
    
    Daltass just smiled enigmatically out across the gathered throng. 
"It is a gift."
    
    Makoto on the other hands wasn't feeling so confident. She tried 
to swallow through the lump that stuck fast in her throat. "Ami-chan, 
what have we got ourselves into?"
    
    Ami could only stare at the sea of people. Right then she didn't 
trust herself to answer. Not without making them all even more 
nervous than they already were. 

***
    
    That night the marching mass stopped in what was to be one of the 
biggest camps the country of Seiji would ever see. Over two score 
thousand lay beneath the open sky that night, hoping that the nomads 
would be good to their word and keep the sky clear as the sun began 
to set.
    
    When it came to it however, the supposed heroines found 
themselves oddly alone. All they had received from most had been 
deferential bows and humble greetings, and most people seemed to 
think that they had no right to be in the presence of the Seraphi. It 
was only when Jiyu abandoned his family to come and sit with them 
that they had any company at all, and only three others were so 
brave.
    
    Naturally they were the people who seemed least likely to desire 
such important company, or to feel the need to take up arms, but that 
didn't really matter. They were there, and they allayed the creeping 
sense of isolation among the girls. 
    
    The old weapon smith who joined them had no reason to fight at 
all. To him the expansion of the army was a boost to his trade, but 
this battle would be the one time in his life when he could feel like 
a soldier and not a man tied to his forge. He fully expected the 
enemy to fold under the approach of the Seraphi, but if he died then 
at least he would have no regrets. 
    
    The young slave girl, all of fifteen years old, held the opposite 
stance. She had run away from a good home and a kind master who she 
hoped would one day take her for a concubine. The only reason she sat 
with them was to make sure that, when she did become the mother of 
her master's children, they would have the potential to make more of 
their lives if they wanted to.
    
    And the prostitute just ran with the crowd. She had been to many 
places, attempted many things, but had never sat on a battlefield in 
the presence of heroes. It would punctuate her life up to this point, 
but she really didn't care if this became yet another comma or the 
final exclamation mark. It had just seemed like the obvious thing to 
do.
    
    Jiyu had to wonder whether this would be the birth of the second 
migration, and he, Makoto and the slave girl explained that for the 
others. 
    
    The first migration had slowly become lost history to all but the 
nomads themselves and those serfs and slaves whose parents kept the 
tales alive in spite of their masters' desire to bury the unpleasant 
event.
    
    It had been Jiyu's great grandfather's generation, or perhaps the 
one before, that had founded the nomad peoples. In those days the 
lure of magical power still drove men to madness and one such man, a 
noble scholar, fell victim to such unnatural depravities. He turned 
his experimenting eyes towards his own staff, and one by one they 
disappeared. Eventually, driven by fear, his remaining servants 
disobeyed his most basic order and entered his workrooms. What they 
saw turned their faith to ash, and that very night they held their 
master down and smothered him as he slept.
    
    Fearful of the consequences they fled, intending to live the rest 
of their days in the wilderness - as animals should it come to that - 
taking with them what valuables and magical tomes they thought might 
help them survive. However, the scandal shook the nobles, and in no 
time slaves and serfs all over the country fled their homes or simply 
stopped work and left, hoping to meet up with these brave few. Only 
the disgrace that came with the discovery of what one depraved 
scholar had done prevented the other nobles from taking action 
sooner, and some could not bring themselves to do anything, even when 
a slave was caught trying to leave.
    
    Eventually they did re-assert their control, with both words and 
blades, but the first migration had already finished, and the nomad 
people had been born. Eventually they coalesced into travelling camps 
that travelled and traded from town to town, and they mastered the 
natural magic that the first fleeing slaves had stolen. It was a 
magic of such little worth to the nobles that they had never copied 
the books that had been written in the time of the first Seraphi, and 
so that magic became the sole possession of these new nomadic people, 
eventually becoming central to their very identity.
    
    It was a tale that kept its listeners rapt, despite its rawness 
in parts, but the girls realised that it did explain a lot about what 
the nomads wanted to do, and why they were who they were. 
    
    "Hmm," the prostitute thought after it was over, resting her 
weapon, a small knife, in her lap. "If we live through this maybe I 
shall follow along with you people. It might be interesting."
    
    Jiyu nodded. "If you want to, we are here. That's the point of 
all this. Just be prepared to muck in. We even got Makoto scrubbing 
laundry for us!" he said, giving her a playful nudge.
    
    "And you got her wandering around half naked too," Minako said 
with a grin. "Even if it was pretty hot, you people are just 
strange."
    
    "Minako-chan," Ami said with an embarrassed smile, pointing out 
the blonde's dancing outfit, "that doesn't sound very convincing 
considering what you're wearing."
    
    "Hey," Minako defended, "I like this outfit! It's exotic, but 
tasteful."
    
    Rei just shook her head as Ami and Makoto both sweat-dropped, 
"Mina-chan, you can stop digging. It isn't doing you any favours."
    
    "Haruka-san! They're picking on me again!" Minako wailed 
theatrically.
    
    Their three visitors didn't know what to make of it as Haruka 
played at comforting the girl, but they would make interesting heroes 
whoever these Seraphi were.
    
***
    
    Rei and Makoto lay together in the back of their caravan cart, 
listening as night continued to send those outside to sleep. However, 
knowing what was coming the following day, neither one thought that 
they would be able to rest so easily, even next to each other.
    
    "Rei?" Makoto asked as her raven haired girlfriend held her arm. 
"You know, I do love you."
    
    Rei smiled and held Makoto's arm closer to herself. "The kissing 
we did back at the tower sort of gave it away. What's wrong?"
    
    "It all happens tomorrow," Makoto replied obviously. "If it goes 
wrong..."
    
    "I'm the one who's supposed to be worrying about that, remember?" 
Rei replied, tilting Makoto's head so that she could look at her.
    
    "I didn't mean it like that," Makoto replied, glad for Rei's 
touch. "I just wanted to say it, in case I don't get another chance."
    
    "Makoto," Rei whispered, trying not to sound concerned. "We 
aren't the ones who will die if it does go badly."
    
    Makoto let out a heavy breath. "I suppose so, but just in case: I 
love you, and I mean it." She brushed away the stray hair that fell 
across Rei's face before kissing her, tracing her thumb across Rei's 
cheek as she did.
    
    Rei relaxed into the embrace, and when their lips parted a 
blushing smile had appeared on them. "Thank you." She sighed and 
rested her head against Makoto's chest. It was a strange sensation, 
finding comfort resting against a bosom like that, but one she was 
getting more used to every day.
    
    "You know," she said, gently shifting her hands to hold Makoto's 
waist, "I've never wanted a victory as badly as I do now. Even at D-
point, and against Galaxia. We can't just rush in all frantic and 
ready for battle. And it's not just us who might end up dying when we 
try. I preferred it the other way around. At least when we were 
fourteen all I had to do was meditate and sneak off into the night, 
thinking we'd all be alright."
    
    Makoto nodded. "I think Ami might have been the only one who 
really knew what might happen. She was pretty upset that night, even 
if she didn't show it much. But I know what you mean. Hopefully it'll 
all work out okay. What does Desir think about it? You haven't talked 
about her much recently."
    
    Rei shook her head. "I don't know. She's been really quiet 
lately."
    
    Then, just as they brought her up, she wanted out. Rei decided it 
was just as well. Maybe they might get some answers out of her. "Go 
on then," Rei said as the demonette appeared, the air flaring around 
her as she manifested.
    
    Desir sat cross legged above their pair, looking down at them 
from the bench seats. "It's as good a plan as any considering what 
you types are like," she said with her usual air of playful 
antagonism. "And hey, if it goes wrong I get to let rip for the first 
time in ages!"
    
    The thought made the other two pale and Desir smiled. "Ahh, 
either way, I think it'll be fun! It's nice to see you two all 
snuggled up together too. It took you long enough."
    
    Makoto sweatdropped. "Thanks, I think."
    
    Desir's smile widened. "And if you do pop your clogs then I get 
to enjoy all the angst of the love that was lost before she even 
fully realised it."
    
    "Mako-chan, don't give her ammunition, please?" Rei sighed, 
having known what was coming. She looked up to the annoying demonette 
with a frown. "You really know how to kill the mood. Do have anything 
useful to say or are you just going to interrupt us to death?"
    
    "Nope," Desir said with a shrug. "Aside from the fact that your 
little Mako doesn't have to worry about you tomorrow." She smiled 
menacingly. "I'll be needing you around for a little bit longer." 
Then as suddenly as it had appeared that menace was gone. "Plus I'd 
rather like something to eat. I'm sure those plebs outside wouldn't 
miss a child or two."
    
    Rei gave an exasperated sigh. "If it can fly under its own power 
you can have it. Just stay out of sight."
    
    "Buzzard barbecue. Nice." Desir gave them both a happy smile 
before vanishing.
    
    After that Rei snuggled back against Makoto. "The sooner we get 
home the better."
    
    Makoto took the hand that Rei laid on her stomach and their 
fingers intertwined. "I'll second that. Do you think Ami-chan's going 
to join us again tonight?"
    
    Rei shook her head. "I doubt it. She didn't seem to sleep too 
well either way. Besides, they probably think we're having sex in 
here."
    
    The silence fell as Rei realised what she had just said.
    
    "If you wanted..." Makoto ventured, but the nervous hanging offer 
went unfulfilled. 
    
    Rei liked being with Makoto like this, taking comfort from each 
other and feeling the warmth of each other's touch. And the kissing 
was fun; there was something school-girlish and naughty about 
enjoying it, but anything more than that... that thought, being 
properly intimate like that, physically, still left her feeling 
uncomfortable. After the long pause Rei finally spoke her mind. 
    
    "I don't think I'm ready for that Mako-chan." The thing was, her 
discomfort make her feel guilty. "I mean, not yet."
    
    Makoto just smiled and squeezed her hand. "It's okay. To be 
honest I was surprised you said it." She kissed Rei's forehead. 
"Maybe we ought to get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be hard as it 
is."
    
    Rei nodded, but her eyes refused to close. She just watched by 
Makoto's side as the tall brunette slowly fell asleep. Makoto didn't 
deserve to be toyed with or led on, but was that what Rei herself was 
doing? Did she really think she could learn to love another woman 
that way, or was she just playing and fooling herself that it was 
romance? 

***
    
    The following morning was a quiet one. Man, woman and child 
picked up their arms and started walking north, not knowing how far 
they need go but grimly determined to get there. Those on horseback 
and wagon led the way, the nomads' scouts having ridden out before 
dawn to make sure that there would be no unpleasant surprises. 
    
    No-one talked about the butterflies in their stomachs or whether 
they would be too tired to fight when they reached their inevitable 
battleground. Even the youngest marched without complaining, 
persuading themselves that they could be heroes too.
    
    Jiyu and Tachi's band led the march from their horses. Kimiko 
rode forward in the scouting lines. Maki watched as Rin and Juriere 
cooked what they could in their caravan, as did so many nomads, for 
one brief meal before the battle. The farmers and merchants walked, 
their hammers, forks and sickles taking the place of swords and 
battle axes.
    
    Rei would have thought it amusing if it hadn't been so serious. 
The plan was so much more simple than a clash of arms. It would be 
the greatest show for centuries to come, and only the audience would 
decide whether blood would be shed that day. 
    
    Still, it was good for the people and good for the country for 
them to believe as they did. It would make this a real part of their 
lives, and thus of history. At least Desir seemed to be happy enough, 
and Rei could worry in peace.

    In the end it was only an hour after their break for a midday 
meal when the mob army saw its opposition. The nomads fanned out 
across the ridge that led down to the battlefield, and their army 
followed their lead. Rei imagined that they must have been a fearsome 
sight lined up against their opponents like that, but the Comte's men 
were no less imposing.
    
    Ten squares of men in formation and another two of cavalry lined 
the grass, fully armed and armoured against their foes. The Comte 
must have sent a full half of his entire military strength which, 
while still dwarfed by the common hoard, were both better trained and 
better prepared. Kimiko's father guessed it could go either way if 
they simply charged each other.
    
    But that wasn't the plan. It never had been. 
    
    Rei gave Makoto an encouraging smile as she mounted the horse she 
had been given. "Here goes nothing."
    
    She looked around at her friends. Haruka had never looked more 
mysterious than with her staff in hand and her head shadowed by her 
plain grey robe. Minako just smiled confidently, both her swords in 
hand. It was the kind of smile that gives a person confidence, and 
whatever the girl really felt, her smile certainly helped. And Ami 
certainly cut an impressive figure in her dyed armour, sitting atop a 
horse that Jiyu held and with her crossbow hanging at her side.
    
    They were a mad bunch, but they were the best friends a girl 
could have wished for.
    
    "Be careful," Makoto said, and Rei gave her another smile.
    
    "Of course."
    
    Then Rei, and Rei alone, rode down to meet their enemies. Above 
her the clouds swirled as the nomads worked their magic. It was nice 
to see the ranks of soldiers ripple as the elements made their 
alliance known. Even a little morale tipped in her favour would help.
    
    Damyo's general rode forward a little to meet her, but it was 
clear that she had to go to them, and by the time they met Rei 
realised just how large a real army was. It was quite different to 
see them all up close, but she swallowed her nerves and heard her 
counterpart out.
    
    For his own part the general smiled, not a trace of worry in his 
face. He was a veteran, and he could have stared down a raging bull 
if he had been ordered to. To a man like him composure was not just a 
formality; it was part of the battle itself. 
    
    "So," he barked out, almost sounding amused, "you would be one of 
the new Seraphi. Girl, if you really want to do what is best for 
these people," he said, gesturing out to the throng that lined up 
against him, "you will take them home and tell them to stop 
pretending that they are the victims. If you choose to fight, my men 
will take you and your traitorous rabble apart, and no magical tricks 
will stop us. The Comte's own mages are more than enough to deal with 
whatever you have up your sleeves. Just walk away and this will end 
now."
    
    Rei just sat atop her horse and gave a quiet smile. "I think you 
have misconstrued my intentions, my lord. I am not here to negotiate 
a truce. I'm here to read you the terms of your surrender."
    
    The general's eyebrows rose beneath his samurai's helm. "You are 
a most peculiar girl. I will give you one chance to tell me why my 
men and I will lay down arms. However, fail and those weapons will be 
the last thing you ever feel against your skin."
    
    "Very well." Rei spread her arms, and in an instant Desir's 
flames erupted from her palms. The general drew his sword in alarm, 
fully intending to cleave her in two before she could finish her 
spell, but it was already done. Above them all, twenty feet in 
height, floated Desir's form. Her hair burned brilliantly as it fell 
to her shoulders and her eyes glowed red as they looked down over the 
terrified soldiers. Her legs vanished into steam as she hovered 
there, and before the awestruck general could strike she reached down 
with one monstrous hand and pinched his blade between her finger and 
thumb.
    
    "Believe me," she said, her sultry voice booming out over the 
field, shaking friend and foe alike, "I'm no smoke and mirrors trick, 
soldier."
    
    Her words were hammered home as the general's blade sagged around 
her fingers before it was melted clean through, its tip setting light 
to the grass where it fell.
    
    Rei just smiled, radiating as much confidence as she could, 
seeing the fear in their faces. To a man they were petrified, unable 
to move even in they had wanted to. "You will surrender and you will 
leave us to do our business. You will go back to do the work you are 
needed for, to uphold the law and protect the innocent. It is your 
master who has broken these laws, not us. Choose to do otherwise and 
I shall unleash my demonette upon you. You will be burned to death 
before your archers' arrows can leave their bows."
    
    The general failed to suppress a stammer as he locked eyes with 
the girl before him. "You would not. You are a peaceful type, that 
much I know. And powerful as your demon may be, you cannot slay us 
all so quickly."
    
    "That may be true," Rei retorted, gesturing to the mass of people 
behind her "but as peaceful as I am, my demonette cares nothing for 
such humanitarian attitudes. She lives to devour. And after she is 
done with you, your men will prove no challenge to the rest of us."
    
    The general looked stolidly into her eyes for what seemed an age 
before his own eyes closed and he bowed his head. "You have chosen 
the wrong side Seraphi, but I will not have my men die for no 
purpose. Go and make your stand against my master, and pray that the 
emperor decides that you are not the one in error. If he does then no 
number of proletarians will save you."
    
    "Thank you, my lord," Rei replied, with a gentle smile. "You have 
made the right choice. I hope that one day you will see that we have 
done the same."
    
    Above them all Desir just shrugged her shoulders, and raised her 
hand in victory before she vanished. The answering cry that went up 
along the ridge was deafening, broken only by the home made firework 
that Ami shot into the sky, signalling their success. 
    
    The girls all watched, hugging each other in celebration, as Rei 
rode back to them.
    
    "Rei-chan, that was amazing!" Minako enthused Rei dismounted.
    
    "Indeed," Master Daltass agreed. "You showed great courage out 
there Miss Rei."
    
    Makoto just grabbed Rei's hands, jumping up and down until she 
realised how the young woman looked. "Rei, what's wrong? You're 
shaking."
    
    Rei just buried her head in Makoto's chest, her heart racing as 
the tension finally fled her. "That was scary. Oh Mako-chan..."
    
    Makoto just held her girlfriend, stroking her hair as Rei calmed 
herself in the embrace, listening to her friends and comrades 
celebrating around her. It had been a success, but Rei never wanted 
to do anything like that again. 

***
    
    The battle had been bloodless, fought with words and leashed 
shows of power rather than swords and arrows, but it buoyed everyone 
up just the same. Theirs was the winning side; they had the greater 
power. When the nomads kept going after their victory it was that 
energy that moved everyone else to follow, singing songs of heroism 
all the way. Rei was astonished to hear a few about herself, and the 
demon she had 'ennobled'.
    
    As was their way it was only as the sun began to set that 
everyone finally got to rest their legs, and then the celebrations 
erupted in full. Some even had the energy to dance when the music 
started being played, but around every fire they all enjoyed 
themselves as much as they could.
    
    For the girls, that just meant sitting, listening and watching as 
it all happened around them. It was the very first time since coming 
to this world that they felt as though they had truly achieved 
something great. For the average girl it might have been more 
unusual, but being the Senshi they had somehow got used to the 
adrenaline rush of doing good work. Even if it was terrifying at 
times.
    
    They were the last call on Juriere and Rin's rounds, dishing out 
food to the other nomads while the remainder ate whatever they had 
brought with them. "You can eat properly now, can't you dear?" 
Juriere asked, offering Ami one of the plates.
    
    Ami nodded, taking the dish. "Yes, thank you. We are sorry to 
impose like this."
    
    Rin beat his mother to answering. "Don't worry, she likes it. You 
would think Maki was enough..."
    
    The girls laughed, while Juriere glared at him. "Don't talk about 
your brother like that, Rin."
    
    "So," Haruka asked as the mother and son left them to eat, "was 
it worth suffering with the bread and water?"
    
    Ami nodded with a smile. "It seems to have worked. I'm feeling 
much better than I was."
    
    "Just so long as it stays that way," Makoto said, tucking into 
her own food.
    
    Minako had other things on her mind though. "Hey guys, look where 
Rin's going with that last dish!"
    
    The others followed her gaze. Out on the edge of the camp sat 
Kimiko, holding her legs and looking up into the sky.
    
    "Come on, let's listen in!" The blonde snoop whispered before a 
stern arm grabbed her to stop her getting up. 
    
    "Leave them to it," Rei said. "I think seeing Desir scared her."
    
    Ami nodded sensibly. "The last thing she needs is to find us 
sneaking around behind her."
    
    "Besides," Makoto added with a practical air, "there's nothing to 
hide behind."

*** 
    
    "Are you okay?" Rin asked as he offered Kimiko her plate.
    
    Kimiko just looked up at him, then back to the sky. "They really 
are the Seraphi, aren't they?"
    
    Rin knew that she knew the answer, but he said it anyway. "Yes."
    
    He sat down next to her with both their plates, waiting to see 
what she said. When he didn't just leave Kimiko sighed and took her 
food from him, picking at it with the fork.
    
    "I thought that was it when the demon appeared," she said 
eventually, her voice wavering. "I thought it was all a trap and that 
everyone was going to die."
    
    "She wouldn't do that," Rin replied, but Kimiko's answer was 
already there.
    
    "How do you know? She's a sorceress. She's got a demon sharing 
her soul."
    
    Rin just looked at his own food. "She's my friend. She wouldn't 
do that. None of them would."
    
    Kimiko felt herself smiling in spite of her mood. He was only a 
couple of years younger than her, but that childlike mixture of 
wisdom and naivete was something she realised she must have lost long 
ago. "I was so scared I couldn't move. What good is a fighter that 
can't even raise a bow?"
    
    "I was scared too," Rin said. "I dropped my sword. Don't tell my 
brother that though, or I will never stop getting teased."
    
    Kimiko stared at him, amazed he had confessed anything like that. 
Rin was always so proud of his swordsmanship skills. "You dropped 
your sword?"
    
    Rin nodded. "Uh-huh. But I still would have tried to protect you 
if something went wrong. And you are the bravest girl in the camp. 
You would have been the first to fire if you had to."
    
    Kimiko stopped playing with her food and looked at him, finding 
herself both grateful and embarrassed by the compliment. "...Thank 
you."

***
    
    "Awwwww!!" Minako mewled as she and the others crowded around the 
ball of magic she had spun into the air, bringing them the young 
pair's conversation as they watched from the distance of their fire.
    
    "Guys, we shouldn't be doing this!" Ami said, but Minako shot her 
down with a pointed look.
    
    "Then why are you listening in too?"
    
    Ami just blushed, still cupping her hand to her ear like the 
others. "But..."
    
    Makoto just shrugged, hugging closer to Rei. "Come on Ami-chan, 
lighten up. I think it's cute."
    
***
    
    With everyone's morale still so high they managed to reach the 
Comte's manor before nightfall the next day, even with so many people 
that might otherwise have been straggling behind. The nomads out in 
front had made sure that no wayward soldier had the chance to ride 
ahead and inform the Comte of his men's defeat, and so it was that 
the nomads' Elder decided to push ahead, and make their move as the 
sun began to fall.
    
    For people who rose and turned in with the sun it was a daring, 
even underhanded move, but there was no way that forty thousand men 
women and children would remain hidden for long, even in the cover of 
the woods that stood off to the side of the Comte's manor. The fact 
that they had made it there undetected was a minor miracle, and 
surprise would be a great weapon.
    
    This time however there would be no grand showdown, and Desir 
would not be playing the centrepiece. Those forty thousand had not 
travelled just to witness history after all. The Comte had sent an 
impressive force against them, but he had not left his own home 
undefended by any means, and here, beneath their lord's own gaze, the 
soldiers that guarded him would have no choice but to fight, no 
matter the odds. 
    
    So fight they would. Both the Elder and Master Daltass knew that 
the best way to make the battle swift and painless to both sides was 
for the Comte and Margrave to issue the surrender themselves. So, the 
bulk of their force would march out to the main gate, drawing out the 
house's guard in the process and engaging them as defensively as they 
could. As they did, Kimiko's father would lead their best horsemen to 
the rear and dispose of what resistance still remain there, allowing 
the Seraphi and a small nomadic entourage entrance to the manor. It 
would be their job to find the lords and convince them to surrender: 
a job that the nomads' Elder thought Desir would likely take great 
pleasure in.
    
    So it was that the girls found themselves circling the ornate, 
oriental building, Kimiko and Jiyu at the front while Tachi brought 
up the rear. The mob had succeeded in drawing most of the guards to 
their battle at the front, and Kimiko's father and his men drew off 
all but the last two men who had not been sent that way.
    
    Kimiko raised her hand, halting them. "Any further and we will be 
spotted. Rei, Ami, we should take them from here," she said, pulling 
her bow from her shoulder.
    
    Both girls looked nervous at the prospect, but Jiyu had a 
different plan. "Just a minute Kimiko. Minako, do you think you can 
make it over to them? Using your magic?"
    
    Minako blinked, wrapping her head around the idea. "I could... 
maybe do that. Sure," she finally said with a grin and a shrug, "I 
could try."
    
    "Then get behind one of them and try to get him to drop his 
weapon," Jiyu explained. "Use that one as cover against the other 
soldier if you have to, and we can take care of him while you have 
him distracted." 
    
    Minako nodded and concentrated. At first nothing seemed to 
happen, but then with a flash of un-light she seemed to vanish. They 
could still see she was there as she sprinted off towards the 
soldiers, but it was as if she had become one of those non-entities 
you catch out of the corner of your eye. In no time at all the others 
had lost her, her shadowy form flitting out of their vision.
    
    Unfortunately Minako knew she couldn't keep the spell up for 
long. It was oppressively difficult as she felt the light around her 
straining to reach its proper destination. 'This must be what a black 
hole feels like!' she thought as she ran. However, that thought was 
just enough of a break in concentration for the spell to falter, and 
in panic she threw her voice as far as she could. 
    
    "Oh crap!!"
    
    It was a pretty bad distraction, but anything to stop her being 
seen was enough. By the time the soldiers realised nothing was there 
Minako was right up behind her target, one small scimitar at his 
throat while the other pressed into his back. "Oh," she panted, 
getting her breath back after all the excitement, "you really fell 
for that one. And after I screwed it up too! I must be lucky! Now 
drop your weapons, because we don't want to hurt you any more than we 
have to."
    
    Unfortunately neither one followed her orders. Minako began to 
sweat as the guard she had stood resolute, and his companion stared 
her down.
    
    "I'm serious guys, this isn't a game," Minako warned, but they 
had decided to take their chances. The man she held twisted around, 
leaving Minako open to the charge the other soldier made.
    
    The whole thing was over in seconds. Kimiko, Rei and Ami loosed 
their weapons and the charging man crumpled to the ground before he 
made three steps. Kimiko's arrow had caught his shoulder, spinning 
him around as he ran. Both Rei and Ami hit him dead centre as he 
spun, their shots piercing his armour and leaving him with nothing 
but a strangled cry as his final breath.
    
    Minako's soldier had tried to bring his sword around, under her 
defences. Her own right weapon had just caught in his armour, barely 
drawing blood, but that hadn't mattered. Her left had sliced the 
man's throat open like tofu, the widened blade cutting right to the 
bone as she fell backwards.
    
    "Minako!" The others cried as they ran to her aid, but Minako 
just got back to her feet, looking down with resignation at the 
corpses.
    
    "Maybe we should have just shot them after all," she muttered 
sadly, before trying to put on a smile for the others. "That spell's 
pretty tiring, you know?"
    
    "Minako..." Rei said sympathetically. This was her second kill 
after all.
    
    Minako just shook her head, putting it out of her mind. "Let's 
go, everyone's waiting for us to finish this."
    
    Kimiko, Jiyu and Tachi nodded, and Tachi gave her a smile and a 
gentle clap on the shoulder as they moved on. "That's it girl. You 
are a good one."
    
    Following behind them Haruka gave Ami a glance. She knew Ami 
would be thinking about the shot she had just made, even if she tried 
not to show it. "Are you okay?"
    
    "Yes, I'm fine Haruka-san," Ami replied, her voice low. "We had 
no choice."
    
    There was nothing else to say as they ran through the mansion. 
Desir's memory of the place was perfect, so she guided Rei who in 
turn called out directions to Jiyu, Tachi and Makoto as they cleared 
the path. The few soldiers they did meet lasted no time at all, two 
cleaved almost in half by Tachi's brutal sword, while Makoto shot out 
her magic scaring back the servants and shocking the few soldiers 
Tachi and Jiyu did not take down.
    
    Now the alarm had gone out that there were intruders in the 
manor, but help could not arrive in time as they reached the room 
Desir led them to. "Left here," Rei called, "then the first door on 
the right."
    
    Tachi didn't even bother to open the sliding door, blowing 
through it like a manic wrestler before they all stopped dead in 
their tracks. "Lord... Himora?"
    
    The weakened old man looked up from his bed, picking the 
splinters of wood from his sheets while Kaori bowed to them all. "You 
would be the Seraphi and their entourage, if I am not mistaken," he 
said, regaining his composure after such a rude awakening. 
    
    "The Margrave?" Kimiko asked, shocked, while the ex-Senshi just 
watched it unfold, never having seen the man before. They had been 
expecting Damyo after all.
    
    "Now, Kaori has informed me that I need not fear for my life," 
Himora said, "so before you finish your business here would you do me 
the service of dealing with Damyo. He has kept me invalid for long 
enough I feel."
    
    "Kept you invalid?" Jiyu echoed, more than a little baffled by 
this turn of events. "He has taken the province for himself?"
    
    'Oh,' Desir said from inside Rei's head, sniggering to herself, 
'did I forget to mention that?'
    
    "Dammit!" Rei swore, drawing everyone's attention before she 
evicted her demonette as painfully as she could.
    
    "OowowowowOWWWW!!" Desir cried as she appeared and plopped to the 
floor, rubbing her sore backside. "Watch it!!"
    
    "Alright, so if you knew about this then where's the Comte?" Rei 
demanded, her brow knotted angrily.
    
    "Damyo?" Desir said. "He'll be here any second. After all, we 
just have to strike a deal with his Lordship here, and Damyo's plans 
go down the toilet."
    
    True to her word, no soon had she finished speaking than the 
Comte careered into the room, his sword drawn shakily as he found 
himself surrounded by three armed and annoyed looking nomads. "No," 
he cursed under his breath. "You people... I'm doing what this old 
fool did not have the nerve to! Why cause all this now?!!"
    
    Desir sidled past Kimiko and Jiyu and grabbed Damyo by the 
collar. "Your little shattered coup should be the least of your 
worries," she said, as the red globes of her eyes locked with his, 
"because I get to play with you now."
    
    For one long moment Damyo could not believe that he was face to 
face with an orange woman whose hair burned like fire. Once that 
reality had sunk in his devotion to his honour and his plans couldn't 
keep him upright, and he couldn't even stay conscious long enough to 
plunge his sword into his belly and save himself the pain this demon 
would undoubtedly inflict.
    
    Desir just looked down at the limp form that hung from her 
fingers, scowling mightily. "Wha..? Where the hell's the fun in 
that?! Bastard!!"
    
    Rei just sighed. "Give it up Desir. I'll find you something good 
to flambe later."
    
    Desir just 'humphed'. "Fine. Whatever."
    
    "So," Haruka said, trying to wrap her head around the sudden 
flurry of events, "with that out of the way..."
    
    "My Lord," Ami spoke up, trying to observe proper etiquette since 
Rei was busy placating Desir, "since the Comte is now indisposed 
would you please order the withdrawal to the soldiers outside? We do 
not wish to keep them fighting longer than they must."
    
    The Margrave nodded with a tired smile. "Done. Kaori, please find 
someone to give the order."
    
    "Yes, my Lord," Kaori said with a bow before leaving to do his 
bidding.
    
    "Now," Himora said, "no doubt there are terms for this 
surrender?"
    
    Ami nodded. "Several, my Lord. The Elder of the nomads and Master 
Daltass from the Warlock cabal of this province should be arriving 
soon, to set the terms. As for us," she said, motioning to her 
friends, "we just want to find our way home. Somehow you are 
instrumental to that."
    
    "Not him specifically," came Daltass' voice as he and the Elder 
appeared through the smashed doorway. "His Seer. The girl who just 
left if I am not mistaken."
    
    "Grandfather!" Jiyu exclaimed, both in shock and concern. "Why 
are you here now?! Surely you both should have waited until after the 
battle!"
    
    "Calm yourself Jiyu my boy," the Elder said with a knowing smile. 
"Following in your wake was no trouble." He gave Tachi a pointed 
look. "No doubt this door was your work?"
    
    Tachi just looked away, embarrassed.
    
    "Still," the Elder said, turning to Himora "this does explain why 
our correspondence collapsed. You look most unwell Margrave."
    
    The Margrave just returned the sentiment. "And you look old, 
Grandfather. I could not even inform my Seer of the reason for my 
condition, for her own safety. She is gifted with the sight, but not 
omniscience."
    
    "Naturally," Daltass put in, "but it is good that she is in 
better health than yourself, my Lord. Her magic is the last piece of 
the puzzle that will send our poor, stranded Seraphi home. With your 
permission, of course."
    
    To their surprise Himora looked concerned by the prospect. "Her 
premonition of these girls' goal was worrisome, Warlock. That, 
whatever their good intentions, they would tear this world asunder 
should they succeed."
    
    The girl's faces fell in shock. Master Daltass on the other hand 
just laughed. "That would be my own plan for their return, Lord," he 
said, jovially unconcerned by such a fate. "But I can assure you, it 
will only be a very small tear, and nothing dangerous or permanent. 
Only one large enough to get these five wonderful young women back to 
where they belong."
    
    That knowledge allayed their fears, but Himora was still 
concerned. "And why would you need Kaori to do so? A Seer's magic, 
powerful though it is, can do nothing but observe."
    
    "But that is exactly what we need," Daltass replied. 
    
    Suddenly Haruka realised why that was. "You can send us home," 
she said, "but you need to know where our home is first. You can't 
feel it, because it's not something you can touch."
    
    Daltass nodded, smiling at Haruka's deduction after so little 
time wielding their magic. "The girl Kaori, a direct descendant of 
the first Seraphi, has inherited the sight that can follow the thread 
of your life back to your world. The demonette's essence can breach 
reality, as it must to follow the call of her summoning, and our Art 
will force the tear along the path to your world. Or more precisely, 
force your bodies to follow that path once you step into it."
    
    Rei expected Desir to come back with a 'witty' retort about the 
fact that she would actually be needed to send them back home, but to 
her surprise Desir just smiled a happy smile to herself. 
    
    "So... when can you do it?" Minako asked.
    
    Daltass just smiled. "It will take some time to put it into 
practice, but no more than a day."
    
    The girls couldn't help smiling themselves, hearing exactly how 
it would work. Whatever this ordeal had put them through, it had 
found them a way home too, and right then that was all that mattered.
    
    The nomads' Elder, however, had plenty more to say. "Now 
Margrave," he said, "though I feel for you in such a condition, we 
should begin our negotiations anew in the wake of all this 
unpleasantness, and of course discuss the terms of the truce."
    
    Lord Himora groaned inwardly and closed his eyes. It was going to 
be a long night.

***
    
    "Rei? Are you asleep?"
    
    Rei look up from under her blanket, snuggled in the back of the 
caravan that had been their travelling home for most of the last 
week. "No," she replied with a tired smile as Makoto looked in under 
the curtain that was pulled across the back.
    
    Makoto mirrored the smile and climbed in, sitting at Rei's feet. 
"It's been a long few days, hasn't it?"
    
    Rei nodded, resting her head back against the folded clothes that 
made her pillow. "Yeah. It has."
    
    Makoto smiled and scratched the back of her head in that 
admissive gesture that came to her so readily. "It's kind of surreal, 
isn't it? All of this has happened, and it's already over. We're 
going home."
    
    The truth was she was already feeling homesick, but not for 
Tokyo. Seiji and its nomadic people had wormed their way into her 
heart with ease, and it would be a long time before she forgot them 
and all the good times she had spent with them. The mutual cooking 
lessons with Juriere and Rin, being passed the washing one day when 
no-one had anything to wear, learning their magic with the camp 
Elder.
    
    Of course she didn't say anything. Rei didn't share any of her 
affection for this world, and Makoto knew it, but they were both glad 
in some way to finally hear that they were going back to their own 
world, and that was enough.
    
    "We're going home..." Rei echoed, the words lingering in the air 
like a sweet scent. 'Finally...'
    
    She looked down to see Makoto start to massage her toes 
underneath the blanket, and Rei found herself smiling even more 
widely. Her mind hadn't really been on the battle that day, or on why 
Desir seemed so chirpy now. She had been thinking on an answer that 
had come to her as she had watched Rin and Kimiko from afar, and been 
putting herself in the young scout's shoes. Like Rin, Makoto had come 
to her almost out of the blue, even if she had suspected something in 
the back of her mind. Unlike Rin, Makoto had spoken her mind in full, 
and unlike Kimiko, Rei had answered in kind. 
    
    And however she might worry, after their great standoff against 
the Comte's general and his men, she knew she had said the right 
thing. Makoto had offered Rei her heart, and Rei had worried because 
she had come to treasure that heart. But those worries were over. She 
now knew that Makoto's feelings had not come unbidden. Rei had long 
since given Makoto her own heart in return, and without even 
realising it.
    
    She sat up and took Makoto's arms, bringing her tall girlfriend 
into a tender kiss, filled not with playfulness but with genuine 
passion. Makoto's heart stopped as Rei pulled her down to the 
makeshift bed, and she realised that only the bed sheet kept Rei's 
skin from the evening air.
    
    "Rei..?"
    
    The raven haired priestess said nothing as she slipped her 
fingers beneath Makoto's meagre leathers, sliding them from her 
before pulling the sheet over the both of them. There she rolled over 
until Makoto was her mattress, their legs entwined as their lips 
locked again for another sensual instant.
    
    "I'm sorry Makoto," Rei whispered against the tall young woman's 
lips. "I shouldn't have treated you like I did. I'm not in high 
school any more, and I should have known better."
    
    Makoto lay there stunned, holding her girlfriend in tender, 
nervous arms. "What do you mean?"
    
    "I just..." Rei started, "I just want to sleep, but... I had to 
show you. And show myself. I love you. I can love you and I do love 
you. You've been so good to me for all these years and, especially 
since we got thrown into this place, you've always been there. I 
realised I don't have a choice."
    
    Makoto looked away with a blush, even as she berated herself. "I 
know it's weird. I mean we've known each other so long, but..."
    
    Rei just put a finger to Makoto's lips. "No, I'm telling you I 
don't care how, or why, or any of that." She let her head fall to 
Makoto's chest and she closed her eyes, blushing furiously. "I love 
you too, and that's all that matters to me right now."
    
    Makoto couldn't stop the tears as they leaked down her flushing 
cheeks and past the edges of her euphoric smile. "I love you too 
Rei," she whispered, kissing Rei's crown as the girl's breathing 
slowed.
    
    Sleep was a long time in coming to Kino Makoto that night, but as 
Rei slumbered with her, both of them sharing each other's warmth 
beneath the same blanket, it had become the happiest night of her 
life.

***

To Be Concluded...

***

Please send any comments and constructive criticism to:

nutzoide@nutzoide.net

They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward 
for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2006

http://www.nutzoide.net