Going into battle with other Senshi at her side was not the only familiar aspect of the situation for Setsuna. Many times during the last five centuries, an area or individual with a problem resistant to their efforts would discover that some Masaki shrine slaves just happened to be in the neighborhood, and would be happy to help. Shortly thereafter the problem would be solved in a way that added further luster to the reputation of the Masaki shrine, and more political pull and favors owed to the master of both shrine and slaves. Master didn’t approve of manipulating the time stream to their advantage, but he couldn’t fault her for helping people when they needed that help. This time, however, she was not the one moving pieces around. Master had given her a package and directions received from one of his many pen pals. Later, she would have to investigate and evaluate these possible rivals in the game.
That, however, was for later. Right now she needed to deal with an armored behemoth bearing down on her.
A full power Dead Scream failed to penetrate the armor and heavy ram on the front of the vehicle. It did shake things up enough that the folks inside the vehicle were distracted while she leaped, did a few acrobatic flips (there was an audience that would be telling the tale of the Masaki Mikos in action later) and landed lightly on the roof of the wagon. There was enough of the glamour effect left that the remaining minions preceding the main vehicle watched her sail over their heads, entranced by the flashes of anatomy that her uniform gave them as she twirled in the air. One, who probably would have been hypnotized even without the magical aspect, fell over backwards in her efforts to keep those glimpses of green pubic hair in sight. The others lowered their eyes just in time to see the crossfire of magical attacks converging on them from the other two Senshi.
Three of the jointed arms flanking that roof reached for her while the forth waved its blond cargo in what would have been a taunting manner if Setsuna had been interested in that cargo. She danced through the mechanical limbs, striking out with her weapon. That weapon was not her key staff.
Everyone knew about Yosho’s first great adventure in binding the demon, though there were a number of details that had been omitted or distorted. Just as famous was his second adventure in capturing, binding, and eventually taming the sorceress known as the Dark King’s Slave. It was a story of a clever and powerful but misguided and willful woman receiving needed guidance and learning the joys of service to a master. It was a story of a kind but firm master bending a beautiful and lonely woman to his will, bringing her fulfillment in body and soul. It was a romance that schoolgirls sighed over and an adventure that young men playacted. It was the beginning of the Masaki shrine as a training academy, and it was the inspiration for many aspects of the modern master-slave relationship. Most importantly at the moment, it featured the slave’s trademark weapon of a magical staff in the shape of a giant key.
When Yosho “died” his most famous slave retreated into the shadows, though rumors and myths said the mysterious and eternally youthful figure continued to associate with the shrine and descendants of her master. Thus, while most magical girls of Japan did not have secret identities, Setsuna did. Publicly, she was prime girl of the Masaki shrine, gaining her powers from a mystical and astrological connection to the planet Pluto. The existence of that planet was unknown in earlier centuries, and the name of the “Dark King’s Slave” was the result of some confusion in translation long ago. Just as Master masqueraded as his own grandson through the use of a disguise field, she was known as the great great granddaughter of Yosho and herself and used her own disguise fields as needed.
For her day-to-day activities and lesser missions, Master had been kind enough to provide her with other weaponry. Seven hundred years as a warrior priest in a primitive culture had taught him a thing or two. Masaki shrine slaves went out into the world with the famous skills and discipline of Masaki training and armed with Masaki steel. He forged those weapons in fires that included dried leaves of his Holy Tree and worked resin of that tree into the metal as it was folded again and again. Setsuna had summoned her katana from storage space after her transformation and now used it to parry and strike at the mighty metal limbs attempting to ensnare her or sweep her off the wagon. There were more powerful weapons in the world, but Masaki steel could hurt things ordinary blades could not touch and were almost impossible to chip or break. Not even Senshi strength and Masaki steel were enough to cut all the way through the armor plating on this monstrosity, but a few well-placed notches cut into joints restricted the motion of those arms and precise blows sheared the heads off of bolts holding them together. One of them flopped limply as a paired World Shaking and Deep Submerge slammed into the side of the wagon.
The massive vehicle had a low center of gravity and was never in danger of tipping over. However, it did slew sideways and a few seconds later smoke began to pour from the engine compartment. It also leaked through the gaps between now-buckled plates of armor. Neptune and Uranus sprinted to cover the distance to the wounded battlewagon, readying their own Masaki-made weapons. Michiru also favored the grace and elegance of the katana. The more forceful and direct Haruka owned a katana and wore it with pride on formal occasions, but for true battle she preferred a massive axe. It wasn’t a pretty weapon, but it was better suited to opening the tin can their leader was standing on. She began a practical demonstration of this fact as her sea green companion watched her back.
Meanwhile, Setsuna turned to face the last participant in the battle, who had leaped aboard a few seconds ago, but had been sent sprawling when the magical attacks hit. The figure was still covered in mud from being run over by the battlewagon a few minutes ago, but Setsuna could see a fine female figure and hints of red hair under the muck. Thanks to Master’s training she could also sense the level of ki the young woman was generating, which was impressive going on shocking. The Masaki shrine’s head slave was certain this mud-streaked girl could have taken the wagon apart with her bare hands, given a chance. Setsuna shifted her stance to maintain her balance as the wagon lurched and ground to a halt. From the way it was leaning, odds were Uranus had hacked most of the wheels off of one side. The loud ringing and violent shuddering of the plates underfoot indicated that the Senshi of Wind was now working on making an entrance.
The girl with curly blond hair, who had been the initial focus of this battle, was still held in a metal claw overhead. She had been silent for a while; perhaps the impacts to the battlewagon had knocked the breath out of her. If so, she had recovered her breath as she now screeched, “Eiko! Eiko you saved me!”
Setsuna resisted the impulse to face-fault. The slave of the planet Pluto also resisted the urge to roll her eyes as praise for Eiko and declarations of unending friendship, with hints of more than platonic affection, continued. Either action would have meant taking her eyes off of a potential threat. She did allow herself an eyebrow twitch as she asked, “Megami Eiko?”
The muddy and rather bedraggled redhead had assumed a battle stance of her own as she evaluated the green-haired woman in the ornate and immaculate costume. From the look in her golden eyes, Setsuna’s intrusion into the fight and the difference in their appearance was not engendering feelings of friendship or cooperation in the younger woman. Her gaze remained fixed on Setsuna and her sword, even as the one limb of the vehicle that retained some mobility reached for the redhead. The almost casual blow that sent that arm spinning away over the fields made Setsuna reevaluate and raise the girl’s threat level a bit higher. Then she received an answer to her question. “Yes, I’m Megami Eiko.”
Setsuna had to speak up to be heard over the continuing babbling from the girl overhead and the shouting now coming from below as someone was wrestled out of the disabled wagon, but she carried on. “Megami Eiko, I arrest you on charges of disturbing the peace, reckless endangerment, and damage to private property.”
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(Posted Wed, 17 Nov 2004 02:40)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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