The three girls made it to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare. Saya looked at a map of Tokyo and tapped a place on the map.
"The Juuban ward?" Saya asked.
Mai nodded. "Yep. Our new house is just across from the Hikawa Shrine. I've heard that the shrine is quite lovely."
"I've read reports of a pervert priest running the shrine," Hikari said.
"Which is why we brought Sabi," Mai said with a smile. "Do you think any normal person is going to try anything with such a big dog near us?"
Sabi looked up at Mai and then curled up and rested his head on the ground. Mai reached down and petted the dog on the head.
"What about the rumors of monster attacks?" Saya asked.
"Hopefully, just that. Even if they are true, there are the rumors of girls called Sailor Senshi fighting them. We won't be needed," Mai replied.
"You mean like Sailor V in England?" Hikari asked.
"Something like that," Mai said.
The bus that the girls had chartered arrived and the girls and dog got onto the bus. They quickly paid the driver and headed for the back of the bus and put their luggage into the racks above them.
"Mai? Do you think Makenkah will ever convince Dr. Mud to turn him back into a human?" Hikari asked.
Mai laughed. "Dr. Mud is in jail and still ranting that Makenkah is a traitor, because he wouldn't help him take over the Spirit and Human worlds."
"Oh. About our vacation, will we have to go to school?" Hikari asked.
"Until our school is rebuilt, we'll be attending Juuban High. Since we're going to go back as soon as the school is rebuilt, we were given special dispensation to wear our school uniforms. There is a closer school, but we still need to stay in shape by running to school each morning," Mai replied.
"Oh well. Any fight clubs at Juuban?" Hikari asked.
"I don't know."
The girls spent the rest of the trip talking about their experiences as Makendo. Soon the bus pulled up to the Hikawa Shrine and girls retrieved their luggage and left the bus. Sabi sauntered out after them. After the bus left, the girls looked to their recently built house and nodded at each other. The house was a two-story affair with an attached dojo. Cherry trees were planted around the building and gave it the appearance of sitting in the middle of a forest of cherry trees. In front of the house was the kanji for the Tsurugino (sword field) name.
"It's adequate. I still like our mountain dojo home better," Hikari said.
"So do I, little sister," Mai said. "But, this is just temporary. We can visit the mountain home on the weekend."
"Cousin? I think we should introduce ourselves to one of our new neighbors," Saya said.
"The pervert priest?" Mai asked, as she turned around.
Instead of seeing an old man, they saw a girl between Hikari and Mai's age standing there. She was wearing traditional miko robes and staring at the three of them. She gave a good-natured glare at Mai.
"I see you have heard about my grandfather. I'm Rei Hino. Welcome to the Hikawa Shrine."
"I'm Mai Tsurugino," Mai said and put a hand on Hikari's shoulder. "This is my younger sister, Hikari. That's our cousin Saya Tsurugino and that's Hikari's dog Sabi. Until our school is rebuilt, we're going to be living in that house across from your temple."
Rei looked at the house and nodded approvingly. "That's a better thing to look at than that horrid abandoned warehouse that was there. I guess I'll be seeing you in school then."
Mai shook her head. "Unless you attend Juuban High, I doubt it."
"Juuban? That's pretty far away," Rei said.
"All three of us are martial artists and we need to keep in shape. A daily run to Juuban will help with that," Mai explained. "I could wish for a school further away, but the city should provide enough obstacles."
Rei shook her head in disbelief. "Just what happened to your school."
The girls all smiled, as Mai replied, "The papers said that it was a meteor strike."
"Oh. I read about that," Rei said. "Most of the students will be attending other schools in the northern island until it is rebuilt. Why Juuban?"
"Change of scenery is one reason. We have others," Mai replied.
Rei got the odd feeling that the three girls were laughing about the meteor strike, as if it wasn't true. She opened her priestess senses to get a reading off the girls. She gave an involuntary step back as she felt power emanating from all three girls and the dog.
Saya gave Rei an odd glance. "Something wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just that I felt something," Rei replied hurriedly.
"Oh, that," Saya said, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. "Probably just our martial arts training is what set your senses off."
"Probably," Rei said. "At any rate, what Martial Arts do you practice?"
Mai shrugged. "I studied Karate and Kempo, but dropped them because they were too easy and got my black belt within a month of starting each of them. I now study Kendo. It's a bit more challenging."
"I study kick-boxing, karate, and added some Jeet Kune Do into my martial arts," Hikari said. "Mai also forgot to mention she knows Jeet Kune Do as well."
"Karate and a bit of Jeet Kune Do. I'm better at martial arts archery," Saya replied. "I've also practiced with a lot of other distance weapons. I can consistently hit the center of a bulls-eye with throwing darts."
Rei gave a long breath and rolled her eyes, as she thought, 'I thought Makoto was good at martial arts. These three make her seem weak.'
Mai gave a wide smile and patted Sabi's head. "I almost forgot, Hikari has trained Sabi to protect us if we are asleep or unable to defend ourselves. He's quite good at it."
Rei looked at the massive dog that was lying on the ground and gave a nervous chuckle. "That's a big dog."
"Strong too," Hikari said with some pride. "When I twisted my ankle a few months ago, he was able to carry me home on his back."
"Uh yeah." Rei said a bit nervously
"We can talk later," Mai said. "We really should get prepared for the night. It is getting kind of dark."
Rei nodded. The Tsurugino family made their good-byes and went into their temporary home.
"I think Rei sensed our Makendo powers," Saya said.
"Probably. It's no big deal," Mai replied. "She might buy the martial arts explanation you gave. Well, let's see what we have in the cupboards. I did get someone to fill the kitchen with food and drink."
"No sushi!" Hikari and Saya said.
Mai gave a short laugh. "It was just one fish. We finally managed to eat it all."
"That fish was seven meters long," Hikari said. "It took us a month to eat that fish."
"Well, I wasn't going to leave something from the Spirit World lying around like that. Since we are Makendo, it didn't have any affect on us other than quickly restoring our magical energy and health," Mai replied with a laugh.
Saya and Hikari rolled their eyes, while Mai went through the kitchen.
"This looks interesting. How does a pizza sound for dinner?" Mai asked, as she pulled out a box.
"Pizza?" Hikari asked.
"It's something like okonomiyaki," Saya said. "As long as we keep the fish out of it, it sounds like a good idea."
Mai gave another laugh and went to work to prepare the pizza.
Back at the Hikawa Shrine, Rei gave a long look at the Tsurugino home and shook her head. As she turned, she saw her grandfather come down the stairs. The older Hino gazed upon the house now across the street from the shrine.
"That is a lovely building," the old man said.
"I just met the people who live there," Rei said.
"Oh really?"
"The three of them know about you grandpa and have a very big dog to keep you away. So don't get any ideas," Rei said. "The three of them are girls that are about my age. They are from that school that got hit by the meteor."
"That's a long way for a temporary transfer," Grandpa Hino said.
"That it is," Rei said, somewhat distracted. 'Martial arts? Maybe. That doesn't explain the dog though.'
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(Posted Mon, 27 Mar 2006 10:42)
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