The three Makendo girls got ready and headed off for Juuban High. They were placed in their separate classes due to their slight age differences. Mai being 16, Saya being 15, and Hikari 14. At lunch the three girls sat together until a girl with her hair done up in a strange fashion came over to them.
"Hello, I'm Usagi Tsukino. I was wondering if the three of you would like to come over and join us," the girl said.
Mai looked over and saw two girls watching them. She glanced at her sister and cousin. They both nodded and the trio allowed Usagi to lead them over to the group. Usagi quickly made the introductions.
"This is Ami Mizuno and Makoto Kino," Usagi said.
As she introduced each girl, they nodded their head.
"I'm Mai Tsurugino, this is my younger sister Hikari, and our cousin Saya," Mai said.
"I notice the three of you haven't changed your school uniforms to Jubaan's," Ami said.
"As soon as our school is rebuilt, we're going back there. The papers claim it was a meteor strike," Mai said with a smile.
"Oh, that school," Ami said and then she frowned. "The way you phrased that says that you don't believe it."
Mai looked up at the sky. "If it was a meteor strike, the school would not have any windows left. The impact would have shattered them all. Other than the huge hole through the roof and the various floors, the school is pretty much intact."
"Then what caused it?" Ami asked.
"Who knows? Maybe a giant demon-ghost robot was smashed through the roof of the school with a magical shinai," Mai said with a wink. "It's just something the papers can't fully explain."
Hikari and Saya did their best to hide their giggles.
Ami blinked and shook her head. "Uh, yeah. You have no clue as to what caused it either, do you?"
Mai just smiled and shrugged.
Ami quickly dropped the subject of what happened to the Tsurugino's school. "So where are you staying?"
"Ah. We're staying in a house across from the Hikawa Shrine," Mai said. "To answer your next question, we chose this school because it is a fair distance away and we do need to keep in shape. We're all martial artists."
"I brought my dog, Sabi, to keep that pervert priest away from us," Hikari added. "He's home right now."
Usagi gave a long sigh and looked in the direction of her home. Mai frowned and saw the worried look on Usagi's face.
"Something wrong?"
"I'm worried about my friend Naru Osaka. This is the third day she's missed," Usagi said.
Ami blinked and looked away with a look of sadness on her face.
"Is she sick?" Hikari asked.
"She was dating someone and he was killed in front of her," Usagi quietly replied.
Hikari flinched and looked at the sky. "Oh."
"If you're worried about her, maybe you should talk to her after school," Mai said.
"I'm going to. I just don't...."
"If you want, I'll go with you," Mai offered. "Helping people out is part of my actual job."
Usagi frowned and looked at Mai. "What do you do? Are you a nurse in training?"
"Police station actually," Mai replied. "We work at helping a detective keep his paperwork down."
"Not a normal job for girls your age," Ami said.
Mai shrugged. "We like it and it pays well."
"Thanks Mai, I don't really know what to say to Naru," Usagi said.
Mai nodded.
_______________________________________________________________________
After school, Mai sent Saya and Hikari home with her books. She kept her shinai case with her, since it also held the elephant Makendo device. She quickly met up with Usagi and the two of them went to her house. Mai waited outside, while Usagi got a bit of money from her home and the crescent moon wand, which she stuffed haphazardly in her purse.
Mai saw the wand and shook her head. "You might want to put that in a bit better. It could fall out at any time."
Usagi blushed a bit, but did as Mai said.
As the two girls walked on, Usagi was curious about why Mai did not ask her about the wand.
"Mai? Why didn't...um?" Usagi tried asking.
"The way it pushed against the bag tells me it is heavier than what the cheap plastic paint makes it look like: a disguised weapon. Hikari has a sword painted like a candy cane. At first glance, it looks like a toy. After getting hit by it, you realize that it is an actual sword. I'm not going to ask why you are carrying a disguised weapon. It's pretty obvious with the rumors of monster attacks in Tokyo."
"Oh," Usagi said with a blush. 'That's now why I'm carrying it, but it's a good explanation.'
'There is something else beyond that. The power it radiates id very high.'
The two girls quickly met Naru who was doing her best to keep up a brave face. Naru looked at Mai curiously.
"I'm from a different area in Japan. I work at a police station normally," Mai said softly. "Occasionally, I do have to help children my age through loss. The same goes for my younger sister Hikari and my cousin Saya. We have been trained to listen and offer advice, beyond what our normal duties are. I don't know if it does any good at all, but there are people who do appreciate it."
"What about a priest? Naru asked.
Mai flinched, as she recalled what happened to the last priest she knew of.
"This is Makendo One of the spirit police! Surrender now, or be destroyed!" Mai shouted while in her Makendo outfit.
"You are mad if you think I'm going to stop now," Father Danbo ranted. "All this work and I'll have turned my followers into true worshipers."
Mai jumped forward and slashed at the priest's neck with her shinai. "By turning them into stone statues by draining their life force!"
The priest stumbled backwards, grasping at his neck. He glared at Mai and raised a hand. Mai concentrated and a yellow aura surrounded her shinai. A bolt of jet-black fire lanced out from the priest's hand and bounced off of the shield Mai had set up. The frictionless shield that Mai erected had Mai flying backwards quite a ways and out of the church she was in. The deflected fire lanced upwards and struck two wires, severing them, and then hit the top of the church. The cross suspended by the wires plummeted downward and impaled the priest through the chest and the bolt of fire ignited the church.
Mai shook her head to banish the memory and answered the question. "The only one I knew of died in a fire. Even so, there aren't that many temples in my area of Japan."
"Oh. Well, I guess I could use the company," Naru said.
The three girls left Naru's home. Mai bit her lower lip.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Mai asked. "Sometimes just talking about it helps a bit."
Naru did her best to blink away the tears. "I... I'm not sure."
Mai sighed and took a deep breath. "Where did he die? Maybe visiting the place will help."
Naru pointed at a tree. "He died underneath that tree. He didn't leave a body behind. No grave. He's gone."
Mai glanced at the girl and then headed over to the tree. She blinked a bit, as she felt something. She quickly knelt and searched through the grass. Her left hand touched something radiating power. Mai closed her hand on the object and stood up. Usagi and Naru were curious about Mai's actions. Mai opened her hand and looked at the stone. It was a glossy green stone that shimmered in the light.
"What is this?" Mai asked.
Naru took a look at the stone and replied, "It's a piece of jade. I wonder how it got here."
Mai shrugged. "There is something odd about it. Maybe it belonged to your boyfriend."
"Nephlyte?" Naru asked in a choking voice. "Maybe it did. He just dissolved away, leaving nothing but the bandage on his arm behind. It could have been in his pocket when he faded away. I don't know."
Mai closed her fist on the gemstone and looked Naru in the eye. "How did he die?"
Naru turned her head and answered. "He died rescuing me from three Youma that had kidnapped me."
"You mean the rumors of monster attacks and Sailor Senshi are true?" Mai asked in a resigned voice.
"Yes," Naru replied. "The Sailor Senshi arrived and destroyed the three Youma, but it was too late."
"Oh joy," Mai said, and quickly changed the subject. "You mentioned seeing a priest. That might be a good idea. Where's the nearest one."
Naru pointed. "There's a graveyard over there. He performs services for the deceased."
Mai nodded. "Yes. He would be able to offer advice on dealing with your loss."
"About that piece of jade, what are you going to do with it?" Naru asked.
"There is something I need to check out about it. If I'm wrong about it, you can have it. If I'm right, I'll make a decision based on what information I have. Police business to counter any objections," Mai said.
"Oh. Usagi, could you come with me?"
Usagi nodded. "Yes. Of course I will."
Usagi and Naru gave Mai an odd glance as they left. Mai clenched her left hand tightly. 'I hope this gemstone is not haunted. Time to concetrate my ki and magic into the stone to see if there is a ghost.'
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(Posted Sun, 02 Apr 2006 03:28)
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