Secrets
Chapter 8 - Fire

    It was interesting to see the lengths to which people would go to avoid him. He had already seen several people cross to the other side of the street, throw him a few furtive glances as they walked past him on the other side of traffic, then cross back again. Only most of the children seemed unperturbed at the sight of a tall caucasian man in black suit and dark glasses standing at parade rest, closely watching his surroundings. Twice, a brave member of one of the groups of smaller children that passed him on their way to school had waved and said "haro" in perfect Engrish. He would surprise them by telling them in perfect monotone Japanese that they ought not to be talking to strange foreigners. They would continue silently on their way, rather more quickly than before.
    The person he was waiting for finally arrived. "Good morning, Smith- san," he said. "Keeping up appearances, I see. Do you enjoy scaring people?"
    "You're late," Smith said. "I was beginning to wonder if this was the right place. I lived here three years and I still can't figure how you actually find places in this city."
    "That's how we maintain our domestic economy," Takada said. "No gaijin could hope to find all the places they need to find to open a business here."
    "Why are we meeting in Juban anyway?"
    "Oh, I just like walking here. And there are one or two interesting places to drop by along the way. Also, one of my favourite restaurants is here, though recently I can never get in. Last week I finally broke down and made a lunch reservation."
    "Last week? Must be popular. I assume that's for two?"
    "Of course, my treat. We've got lots of time, so shall we wander?"
    "Lead the way."
    They started walking. "All clear again last night," Smith said.
    "Yeah, I heard."
    "That's more than a week. Maybe your hunch was right, your contact with the Ancients really did know something."
    "I'm quite sure she did. And it's looking more and more like she's done something to stop whatever they were doing. We may have seen the last of it."
    "Even if we have found the culprits and they cease and desist, that leaves the one question they're going to ask back home. Why?"
    "Want me to speculate?" Takada asked.
    "Shoot."
    "In the past, members of the Order here have heard more than one Ancient say that being in certain holy places enhances their powers. Clarifies visions of clairvoyance, that sort of thing. That's one of the ways we've kept tabs on them. Members of the Shinto and Buddhist branches of the Order tend to be in those same holy sites, since those places enhance their own abilities. We keep note of known Ancients who show up and who they show up with. They sometimes bring their kids. We've got a sketchy family tree for them going back generations."
    "Then if they're really demolishing these places, they seem to be shooting themselves in the foot," Smith said.
    "Yeah. But think carefully about what we heard from one of those three monks, the one that saw the whole thing. The people he saw *took* something from the temple. I've heard operatives of the other branches claim to confirm this."
    "So they're trying to take whatever is in these places and bottle it?"
    "Something like that. The only thing I can't figure out is, why now? Why all of a sudden? In all the centuries the Order has watched them and other ESPers, we've never seen anything like this, at least never done so methodically."
    "Want me to speculate now?" Smith asked.
    "Go for it."
    "Simple. They've caught Millennium Fever."
    Takada chuckled. "Yeah, I guess there's a lot of it about. So what do you think they're trying to do about it?"
    "Maybe they're trying to make a customized, industrial strength, supercharged holy place that they can hide in when Armageddon comes."
    "Interesting. When I heard those latest witness reports, I was thinking more that whatever they were taking was being ... *consumed* somewhere."
    "Like a psychic drug?" Smith asked.
    "Or food. If they're just stockpiling - or whatever you want to call it - perhaps that explains why they were more easily put off."
    "Also suggests that if times get more desperate, they may become inclined to go after more. By the way, are we climbing these stairs for our health?" Takada had steered them through the huge entrance gate of a shrine, which led immediately up a ridiculously long set of stone stairs.
    "This is one of the places I wanted to show you. Hikawa shrine."
    "I read the plate. Sounds vaguely familiar, now you mention it."
    "It's mentioned in the first file I sent you. There were a series of reports of paranormal activity in this area around the time sightings of the so called Sailor Senshi began. One of the earliest ones was right around here."
    "The one with all those buses disappearing?"
    "Yes."
    "Well, of all the stuff I read about, that seems like one of the more benign. Plenty of worse things happened in other parts of town."
    "This place is special for a different reason."
    "You think it's at risk of being attacked?"
    "No more so than hundreds of other shrines. What makes it special is who lives here."
    They crested the top of the stairs, which opened onto the surprisingly spacious grounds of the shrine. There were already a few people about, either praying at the shrine or just walking. Takada led him across the grounds and to an unobtrusive place beside a big oak tree. "You see the shrine maiden we passed by?"
    "Yeah." Smith certainly had noticed her, and the other three uncommonly beautiful young women she was talking cheerfully with.
    "That's Hino Rei. Possibly one of the most gifted clairvoyants in the country."
    "Ah, so that's it. Well, this one looks a bit more cheerful, maybe she has a sense of humour."
    Takada chuckled. "I wish. No, it's not really me who's got my eye on her. You remember Rising Wind?"
    "Who doesn't? The patents we picked up from that affair will be paying our bills for years."
    "She was at the first Hakone incident."
    "The one where the temple burned down? But that was years ago, she must have been just a kid."
    "She was eight, the youngest of the survivors, the youngest one there period. Yet her testimony was by far the most valuable, it is what ultimately allowed us to make the connection to Ingolffson. Too late to do any good, but after Ingolffson was killed in the second Hakone incident it was a moot point."
    "I remember that. You all figured the Oracle there had somehow gated Ingolffson in, whoever or whatever she really was."
    "The Fire Oracle Kozukuri. Her loss was a great blow to us. Hino was her star pupil."
    "When she was eight?"
    "She was gifted even then. She's barely twenty now, and it's thought her power is already greater than Kozukuri ever achieved."
    "Wait a second," Smith said. "If she participated in the ceremony that led to the first Hakone incident, she must know something about the Order."
    "Yes, she does. In fact, the Shinto branch has been in regular contact with her. They've asked her to enter the Order more than once, but she's always politely refused. She was very close to Kozukuri, she may blame us for her death."
    "Well, even if she doesn't work for us, maybe we can solicit her services. Get her to tell us which place will be hit next."
    "If it were that simple I'm sure she would have done it by now. Wouldn't surprise me if somebody at Metro already approached her. They don't like to advertise it, but she's actually helped them out in a couple of cases. High profile missing persons, that sort of thing."
    "Well, just getting a look at her was worth the hike up here."
    Takada went over to the shrine to pay his respects, then the two of them walked back to the stairway. The tall girl who Hino was talking to really gave Takada the eye. Women were ogling him a bit less since he started wearing the aura glasses, probably because they thought he was a gangster. But that lady sure didn't seem to care. Quite the build on her too, she must really work out. And Smith would swear he had seen the blonde girl before, on TV or something.
    Hino noticed them pass by, and bowed. "Thank you for visiting our shrine."
    "My pleasure," Takada said. The tall one was practically drooling now. The short blue-haired one was watching her with a look of sad resignation.
    They made their way back down the stairs. "Takada, I assume that sometime soon you'll be paying a courtesy call to your Ancient contact. I mean, to thank her without really thanking her, in your wonderfully oblique fashion."
    "If there are no further incidents in a couple of days, then yes I was planning on meeting her in Sapporo again."
    "Mind if I tag along?"
    Takada stopped walking. The two men faced each other. "Smith-san, I'm not going there to conduct an interrogation. As well as being my contact, I consider this woman to be a friend. Neither she nor her son deserved what they were put through. I treat them both with the utmost respect."
    "I understand," Smith said. They continued walking. Both men understood that the matter had been cleared without offense being taken by either.
    "Any particular reason?" Takada asked.
    "I'm more interested in meeting the boy. I understand she always has him with her."
    "Yes. I don't think he ever leaves her sight, and I mean that literally. What is your interest in him?"
    "From the way you've been describing his post-trauma behaviour, it sounds much like what one would expect from a child savant who had suddenly lost part of his gift."
    "You seem to be speaking from experience," Takada suggested.
    "Back at home office I worked on a project that involved isolating a young genius boy in an artificial environment. The idea was to recreate certain incidents and get the boy to relive what was going on in people's heads during said incidents, basis that input."
    "I never heard about this."
    Smith could hear the edge in Takada's voice. "It wasn't as bad as it sounds. The boy was essentially dysfunctional outside the centre. I really think we were doing him a favour. But some others didn't think so, and there was an attempt to kidnap him that turned out to be highly traumatic. It was at that point I was brought in, to assist in his rehabilitation. It was never really successful, but I learned a fair bit. Traumatized savants still tend to have photographic memory or some other form of total recall."
    "I think I see where this is headed," Takada said.
    Smith smiled. "Kids tend to give direct answers even to very indirect questions. Like I said, I learned a lot. You would never guess from looking at me, but I'm actually pretty good with kids."
    "Like the ones I saw running away from you today?"
    "Hey, that was for their own good. They really shouldn't be talking to strangers. Especially in this neighbourhood, you never know who's going to monster out."
    Takada sighed. "We always meet for dinner. I'll brief you more fully later on, but basically she thinks I'm an agent with Japanese intelligence. I've hinted we're a special unit not unlike the FBI's X-files."
    "Oh, that's rich."
    "Akira may or may not be talkative, he goes through phases."
    "Been there. Luck of the draw, I know."
    "We'll arrange a signal. If I think she's becoming uncomfortable about us talking with the boy, we back off."
    "Deal. So where are we off to next?"
    "A couple of antique shops. I've always suspected that some of the items there had spells on them, but I couldn't exactly cut open my hand in the middle of the shop. I want to see if these glasses can spot them."
    "Shopping trip, huh? Sounds like fun."

    *****

    Shoji spotted the man he was looking for. He was sitting alone on a park bench. He was gaunt and unshaven. His long, greasy hair was in tangles and he wore a dirty trenchcoat, closed against the autumn morning chill. He appeared to have a constant case of the jitters. His limbs were quivering almost constantly. Every now and then, an arm or leg would jerk in a quick spasm. At first sight he just seemed to be staring off into space, his line of sight only changed now and then by a jerk of his head that might have been another spasm. But closer observation showed that the turns of his head were calculated. He was following people. Getting closer, you could see it in his eyes. They locked on to anybody who happened to walk down the path in front of him. It was promising to be a sunny day that would warm up quickly, so there were people walking about Juban park, just enjoying the day or taking a shortcut to wherever they were going. For the most part they didn't notice the man's attentions, passing him off as a vagrant or a drunk.
    Shoji walked over to the bench and unceremoniously sat down beside the man, laying his arm casually along the back of the bench. "Hey Tetsuya, how's it going?"
    Tetsuya grunted. That meant it was going okay.
    "You interested in some breakfast?"
    Tetsuya grunted. That meant yes.
    Shoji stood up. Tetsuya slowly got to his feet. Shoji kept a slow pace, allowing Tetsuya to shuffle along beside him. He'd really gone downhill since Shoji last saw him. Probably wouldn't last the winter, the rate he was going. Shoji had seen other black sheep like him. They seemed to think they had the Eye of God, then after a while they figured they'd seen it all and they just didn't care anymore. Looked like Tetsuya was at that stage now.
    They sat down at a little noodle shop and Shoji ordered for the two of them. Tetsuya ate very slowly and with utterly mechanical, clockwork movements. Like the act of eating had no more meaning for his conscious mind, and only his hindbrain drove the process on.
    When they were done, Shoji walked him back to his park bench. They sat down. Shoji draped his arms across the back of the bench. "Tell me what you see, Tetsuya."
    Tetsuya grunted. That meant the question had registered. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Then a young couple walked by.
    "She's pregnant," Tetsuya said in a scratchy, toneless voice that was barely audible. "He doesn't know. It isn't his. He thinks she's too fat."
    A minute later, a young man walked by. "Hates his mother-in-law. Hopes she'll die soon. Inheritance. Would like to poison her. Hasn't got the guts."
    A young woman in a hurry. "Boss made a pass at her. Promotion. Still thinking about it."
    A group of young schoolgirls. "Two of them abused by their fathers."
    An old woman. "Hoarded food during the war. Just for herself."
    Shoji sighed. He leaned back and looked up into the sky. "I don't know. Pretty boring stuff, actually. Seen anything really interesting lately?"
    "Yeah."
    Shoji just waited, let it come of its own accord. After half a minute it did.
    "Babe at this shrine. Works there. Got a mean streak. Aura's like all sharp edges and stuff. Mostly red, but there's this white part and it don't move. Pure like it never changes an' it's been there forever."
    That was about as many sentences as he had ever heard Tetsuya string together all at once. This girl must have made quite an impression. Shoji grinned. "Do tell."

    *****

    "Onesama!" Miho called as she came running. Rei heard her sandals clicking on the stone path even before she called out. She looked up from her work. She had just strung up the sign indicating the shrine was closed for the day, and was doing a little cleaning up around the gateway at the top of the stone stairway.
    "Hi Miho-chan. You done closing up already?"
    "Yes," she said, smiling brightly. "I just wanted to ask, before I finish the chores for the night, can I go practice some more?"
    "What, archery? There isn't much daylight left."
    "There's enough time for one round, I think. Before it gets too dark."
    "Well, you'd better get going, then. Sorry I can't join you, I've got friends coming over right away."
    "Thank you, onesama!" Miho turned and ran back towards the shrine building, behind which they had the archery range. Rei smiled as she watched Miho run. Rei had done archery since childhood, but had started practicing in earnest since her Flame Sniper attack awakened. As usual, Miho wanted to try everything that her onesama did. She was even trying her hand at fire readings. It was a shame she hadn't been encouraged at an earlier age, she had considerable natural ability.
    When she was about finished cleaning up the litter around the gate, she glimpsed somebody coming up the steps. Ami, right on time as usual.
    Rei stood behind the sign strung across the entrance. She had taken to putting up a sign both here and below, to impress upon people that closed means closed. She put her hands on her hips. "By what right do you enter these grounds after hours, girl?"
    Ami stopped and assumed a similar pose. "By right of invitation to the first scheduled now-we-can-gossip-about-Usagi party."
    "Then enter, and be prepared to hear the unvarnished truth."
    "Pardon my rudeness." Ami took the last few steps two at a time, leaped over the 'Closed' sign and landed gracefully right in front of Rei. "I've always wanted to do that."
    Ami had become a lot more playful these past couple of days. Rei could guess why. "So, the truth comes out, you've always harboured a secret desire to break all the rules."
    "Must be the company I keep."
    Rei winked. "Well, hopefully getting married will put you back on the straight and narrow." That brought the smile she had expected. She bent and picked up the pail containing her work things and refuse. She'd just lay it aside near the residence for now. She started in that direction and Ami followed. "Yuichirou has the room all ready for us."
    "That was very sweet of him. Especially considering how we've been monopolizing you for the wedding preparations. You probably haven't had much time to go out anywhere."
    "No, we haven't. But after this post-wedding girls' night out, we both promised that will change. And after our current business is resolved, we're planning a big trip."
    Ami stopped walking. She frowned. "What do you mean our current business?" That was usually how they referred to Senshi business without really saying so.
    Rei sighed. She wanted to tell everybody at once, but there were reasons why Ami was a special case. "Yesterday I told him everything. About who I am."
    Her eyes went wide. "Rei-chan ..." she breathed. Of all people, Ami would understand what that meant.
    Rei smiled and nodded, confirming that she was right. "He asked me a year ago, in fact. I told him I had to think about it. Well, I thought about it."
    Ami stepped closer, put a hand on her arm. "Rei ... you told him everything?"
    "He already suspected a lot. He says it doesn't matter, about what I am or how long I might live or anything. I believe him."
    "Rei-chan ..." Just before she crushed Rei in an embrace, Rei saw the understanding in her eyes. They had both been accepted, been offered love by somebody who knew that they were something more than human, something different.
    Rei could only wrap one arm around her friend, the other still holding her pail. After a little while, Ami stepped back and dried her tears. "Congratulations."
    "Thanks."
    Ami laughed. "It looks like she inspired us both."
    "How's that?"
    "Usagi. Her wedding."
    Yes, Rei thought. Perhaps for different reasons, their courage came from the same source. On impulse, she reached out and stroked Ami's cheek. "I guess she inspires us all."
    Ami took her hand, kissed it lightly. "It looks like we'll both have some good news for her when she gets back."
    "Right." Ami hadn't broken the news until after Usagi and Mamoru were gone, not wanting to steal their thunder. Rei had ached to do as Ami had, to give her answer to Yuichirou even as they danced at her Princess' wedding. But their situation was different, her answer had to be accompanied by a great deal of explaining. A whole night's worth, as it had turned out. "Let's go, I want to get rid of this thing," she said raising the pail. Before heading for the house again, she took one quick look across the grounds. She sighed. "Never fails. Hang on a second, Ami, I'll be right back." She put the pail down and walked back towards the entrance. A young couple was walking towards them. Apparently they couldn't read. When Rei had walked within easy earshot, she stood on the path and bowed. "I'm very sorry, but the shrine is closed for the day."
    "That's okay, we won't be here long." The man flipped off his hat and his red hair spilled out. The girl's eyes began to glow.
    Rei's shout of warning was cut off by paralyzing pain ripping through her body. In the midst of her agony and panic, she recognized the feeling. Her soul was being ripped out. Just like the Death Busters had done. Only this time it was taking forever and ever.
    "What are you doing?" Ami's voice. Not Mercury's. She hadn't transformed. She hadn't realized yet who these people were. Had this pain only been going on for a couple of seconds? Didn't seem possible.
    The pain stopped. It was euphoric. No ... it had just subsided. Enough to unlock her muscles, let her fall to her knees. Running footsteps behind her. Gods, by now Ami must realize...
    The pain subsided further, and the girl's eyes glowed brighter. That didn't seem to make sense, wasn't she the one doing this? The footsteps had stopped. Ami screaming. Movement to her right. She turned to look.
    Ami, flying away from them at hellish speed, tumbling over and over. Slamming into one of the great wooden columns of the shrine. Her limp form seemed to fall to the ground in slow motion.
    Rei reached behind her, willed her transformation wand into her hand. It didn't come in time. Pain exploded in her head again. All her muscles seized up. She couldn't even close her eyes. It was taking forever. Maybe if she stopped fighting the pain would stop. It was taking forever and ever.
    A scream. The pain stopped again. This time it really was euphoric. She slumped down to the ground in slow motion. Her muscles were utterly limp, unable to obey her. It was hard to work up the motivation to care, so blissful was the relief. Her head hit against a flagstone. It was hard to believe, but at another time she would have called that pain. How silly. She was at least able to move her eyes. She looked up at the two ESPers.
    The man was staggering back with an arrow in his shoulder, his face twisted in shock and panic. The girl was uttering the horrible animal sounds of those who cannot hear their own voice and had never been taught to compensate. She was deaf.
    Rei tried following the man's gaze, found she could actually lift her head up a little. She saw Miho standing beside the shrine building, partly obscured by it. The young girl was nocking another arrow in her practice bow.
    The man screamed again, a rasping howl of rage and hate. The whole courtyard was lit up by a stream of flame that mirrored but utterly drowned out the orange glow of the setting sun. The flame leaped out at Miho, and she disappeared as it enveloped her and the whole side of the shrine.
    Rei was only vaguely aware of the man pulling the arrow out of his shoulder. The practice arrow came out easily, but he still bellowed curses. The girl was beside him, making little mewling sounds. Rei stared at the burning shrine, her numbed mind hardly able to comprehend what was happening. Ami still hadn't moved. She was lying near the other side of the shrine, the flames hadn't reached her yet.
    Some sixth sense prompted her to look back at her attackers. The girl's eyes were glowing again, and she raised her arms up, her fingers curled into claws. Rei arced her back and screamed. It was different this time. Not being pulled out, just assaulted. A mind-numbing explosion of white-hot agony to break her down, soften her up, make her soul ripe for the picking.
    The girl grunted, and it was over.
    Rei was surprised to find that she was still in her quivering, pain- wracked body. The girl was down on the ground. Rei's grandfather was standing between them. The cool, tactical part of her mind that had kicked in at the first sign of danger was telling her that her grandfather's aggressive stance was a bluff. He was favouring one leg, putting hardly any weight on it. He must have hit the girl with a flying kick between the shoulder blades, just strong enough to knock her down. He would never really hurt a woman, even one who was attacking his granddaughter. But he had probably come down hard on legs far too old for that sort of strain. He couldn't walk now, much less attack. And Rei could still barely move.
    From behind her a loud battle cry and the sound of running feet. Rei whimpered. Yuichirou. Oh God, no.
    She tried to get to her feet, to get in the way, but it was no good. She could only watch it happen again. The man raised the hand that had been staunching the flow of blood from his shoulder. His blood-soaked palm glowed. This time it went right over her head. It was blinding, and the heat felt like it would incinerate her. She swung around, her arms gave out, she slumped down on the ground.
    A man-shaped comet hit the ground and burned brightly. The fireball that had gone through him just kept going, splashed over the house he had been running from. Rei screamed impotently, watching them both burn.
    "Rei, get out of here!" her grandfather shouted. Oh God, they don't know he's helpless, Rei thought. They'll kill him. Rage and desperation pushed through the pain, forcing her tortured body to do as she willed it. She levered herself up on one knee and her arm shot behind her. That invisible place behind her opened up in response to her desire, deposited her wand in her hand. She thrust it up over her head. With no words spoken, by sheer force of will alone, she summoned the flame of Mars.
    In an instant the flame subsided and Sailor Mars shot to her feet. She looked over her grandfather's head at the two enemies who were already dead, her vision blurred by tears of rage and grief that just wouldn't stop. The girl was just getting to her feet. The man was staring at Mars in disbelief.
    She linked her fingers together and locked her arms, two index fingers pointed right between the man's eyes. "BURN IN HELL YOU FREAK!" The Fire Soul leaped out at him. It splashed against a wall of flame that came up between them. Mars howled and the flames shooting from her fingers flashed white-hot. The barrier wavered, but did not falter.
    Rage alone was not enough to sustain the attack. The fire sputtered out and died, as her spirit succumbed to the ravages of what it had endured. The wall of roiling orange flame burned on, hiding the man from her sight.
    Rei heard a hideous cry of animal rage. She looked up, still shaking violently from the extremity of her attack. The girl was floating in the air, her eyes glowing, her arms spread out before her. Mars braced herself for the pain she knew would come.
    There was a crashing sound behind her. Like the burning house was collapsing, but the sound was wrong. Something prompted her to turn and look.
    The burning timbers of the roof were all breaking away, splintering, floating over the blazing inferno. The burning splinters all aligned themselves on her.
    She was in the air before her conscious mind even knew why. Like bullets leaving trails of smoke the splinters whistled under her feet.
    *Oh God.*
    She landed and whipped around to look where she had leaped from, where her grandfather was supposed to be. He wasn't there. He was lying directly under the girl. Something was sticking out of his chest, something that still smouldered. She tried to tell herself he was moving slightly, it wasn't just a trick of the flickering firelight.
    The girl brought her arms up again. This time the burning shrine was to Mars' back. *Same trick, bitch?* She thrust one arm straight out at the girl, brought the other up next to her ear. The fiery red bow of the Flame Sniper appeared in response. Practically before it finished materializing Rei let the shimmering red arrow loose, racing straight for the freak's rancid heart.
    It exploded just in front of her. The spherical barrier around her flickered, then disappeared like a popping soap bubble. The girl still floated there. The barrier had held.
    "Oak Evolution!" A blizzard of shimmering green streaks of light assaulted the girl, exploding against her barrier, forcing her back. Rei traced them back to their source. Sailor Jupiter was a barely discernable blur, spinning at impossible speed like a figure skater, the deadly beams shooting out from the green whirlwind of shimmering light that surrounded her. Her attack done, Jupiter whirled to a stop and the light dispersed. She crouched down, scanning for her next target.
    If she was here, others were on their way, Rei thought. Just have to keep these freaks busy until more help arrives. She brought her hand up to her ear again, locking her other arm out in front of her, aiming at the man this time. The bow took just an extra moment to shimmer into existence. She nearly fainted from the effort. Not many of these left in her, better make it count. She was hoping his attention would stay on Jupiter. It did not. He saw her an instant before she loosed the glowing arrow. His flame barrier came up again, deflecting it. She spared a glance at Jupiter, wondering why she hadn't attacked again.
    She was on the ground, convulsing. A man with wild, staring eyes was standing over her. The backstabber Venus had told them about.
    "Bastard!" Even as she brought her arms up to try and will the Flame Sniper into existence one more time, she heard the timbers cracking behind her. Survival instinct won out over killer instinct, and she turned to the new threat. No blizzard of splinters this time, just enormous blazing timbers bearing down on her. She leaped away, barely avoiding the first of them. A smaller one she hadn't noticed hit her in the side, throwing her off balance. She landed badly, falling to one knee, the wind knocked out of her.
    A fireball came bearing down on her. No hope of avoiding it. She jumped anyway. The edge of the inferno licked at her legs. She screamed, falling down in a heap. She couldn't get up. The next one would finish her.
    It didn't come. When her head cleared a bit she rolled over, facing where she had thought the attack would come from. The backstabber had gone over to join the other two. In the blink of an eye, they were gone. They had run away.
    There was so much to grieve for, Rei could feel it pushing her over the edge. She fought it back, focusing on just one thing, knowing she could deal with just one thing. With agonizing slowness, she got up and limped over to her grandfather. When she fell and couldn't get up, she crawled to him.
    He was breathing. She tried to focus on that fact, to ignore the great blackened splinter protruding from his abdomen. His face was screwed up in agony. "Grandpa?" she whimpered, gently cradling his face in her hands.
    He opened his eyes. He looked bewildered. "Who ...?" he croaked.
    "It's me. Rei." Her voice was still a whimper. Tears were blurring her vision again.
    "Rei?" As she blinked her tears away, she could see his face clearer. He recognized her now. He looked her up and down and smiled. "Heh. Should have known. My little firebrand. Who else could wield the Fire of Mars?" He choked, coughed up an alarming amount of blood. His breathing was becoming more laboured.
    "Don't talk, grandpa. Just rest. You'll be okay."
    "Yes ... rest." He closed his eyes.
    "Yes, that's it." She was just mouthing the words, hardly making a sound. "Just rest for a while. You'll be okay."
    She became aware of other voices. Venus shouting orders. She looked up. The refugees were here too. Venus was kneeling over Ami. Thetan was running to her. K'Theelm was running over to where Jupiter was lying. Jeneth was running towards her. She looked different, barely recognizable. Grey skin and dark, dark eyes.
    "I know we've disobeyed your orders," Jeneth said as she approached. "I could feel you fighting off their attack. We had to come."
    "Please," Mars begged. "Help him. He's my grandfather. You have to help him."
    Jeneth glanced at Rei's grandfather for just a moment. She knelt down on the other side of her grandfather's prone form. She reached over and took both of Mars' hands in her own. "Mars ..."
    "No."
    Jeneth shook her head. "I'm so sorry. He's gone. There's nothing I can do."
    "No. Please." But she could see it in Jeneth's manner, just that perfect blend of firmness and sympathy that the best of healers used when they told you there's no more hope.
    Mars closed her eyes. One slow breath. Two. Three. Four. Five. She opened her eyes. "The girl by the shrine was thrown against the building. Jupiter was attacked by one of the ESPers. Please see what you can do for them."
    "I'll do what I can." She released Mars' hands, got up and ran over to where K'Theelm was examining Jupiter. Venus and Thetan were doing something around Ami. It looked like they were making splints or something. So she was alive, but she had broken bones. The fire was spreading, they had to get her away from the shrine.
    Mars heard footfalls from the stairway. The unmistakable sound of people running at superhuman speed. Uranus and Neptune came rocketing through the gate as one, stopping dead and assuming combat stance. Just as quickly, they dropped their guard, gaping at the hellish scene. The fires were blazing out of control. There were two smouldering heaps where Miho and Youichirou had fallen. Burning debris was scattered all over. Pluto and Saturn came right up behind them. Their reaction was much the same. There were no enemies left, nothing to shoot at.
    Saturn ran straight for Mars, but stopped cold as she saw who was lying there. "Oh, Rei-"
    "Mercury and Jupiter are hurt," Mars interrupted her. "Please see if you can help them. There's nothing you can do here."
    Saturn nodded, and ran over to where Venus and Thetan still seemed to be preparing to move Ami. She shifted direction when Venus waved her over to where Jupiter lay. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto walked slowly onto the grounds. Rei had never seen them look so shocked.
    "You three!" Venus shouted, pointing at them. "Why in hell don't you take Saturn's example and make yourselves useful? We've got to get this girl out of here!"
    The three Senshi seemed to come out of a trance. Pluto murmured something, and suddenly they were all in motion again. Uranus and Neptune ran over to where Ami lay, Pluto ran over to Jupiter.
    Rei put her hands together before her, and murmured a tearful prayer for her grandfather's spirit. She heard her house collapse, felt a wave of heat as the fire leaped even higher. She didn't even bother to look.
    A minute later she saw them move Ami away from the shrine before the flames could get near. Thetan had broken off impossibly large pieces of timber to fashion a rude stretcher for her. Venus shouted orders Mars couldn't quite hear. The rest of them moved Jupiter and Ami off the grounds and out of sight. Venus ran over to her. She knelt and put a hand on Mars' shoulder. "Mars, can you tell me what happened?" She asked softly.
    "It was the ESPers. They killed everybody."
    It took a moment to sink in, what she meant. "Yuichirou? Miho?"
    "Dead."
    "Oh my God." Mars could see Venus trying so hard to feel anger, but feeling only guilt. She had promised Usagi she would protect them.
    "Venus, I'd like to stay here. I can't just ... leave."
    "I understand." Venus closed her eyes, put her hand to her breast. Her whole body shimmered, and she transformed back into Minako. "I'll stay here with you. The others will take care of Ami-chan and Mako-chan."
    Mars transformed back into Rei. Minako came around and knelt beside her, put an arm around her shoulders. Rei looked in her eyes. "I would have kept my promise, Minako. I'd have let them demolish my shrine, I'd have just stood and watched, because I promised her."
    "I know," Minako said. "I know."
    "But they attacked *me*. What was I supposed to do?"
    "I know." Minako put her other arm around Rei, drew her closer until their foreheads met. "I know."
    "It wasn't my fault."
    "I know."
    "Wasn't ..."
    By the time the first of the emergency workers made it up onto the grounds, Rei had cried herself hoarse.

    *****

    Kaori was a light sleeper, so the telephone woke her on the first ring. She glanced at the clock by her bed. Almost three in the morning. Who on Earth could be calling at this hour?
    She picked up the phone. It was her own personal line, so it wouldn't ring anywhere else in the house. "Hello?"
    "It's me."
    It was Setsuna's voice. She only ever called here to set up a meeting. Certainly never at this hour. "Setsuna-san. Is something wrong?"
    Her voice remained ice cold. "Your son just killed three people."
    "What?"
    "He and his friends attacked another shrine. You can get the details from him. Tell him if we ever find them, we will kill them all." There was a click, and the line went dead.
    Kaori just listened to the dial tone for a while, her heart racing. She shuddered. Setsuna's curt message shocked her more than any amount of polemics could have.
    She dialled her son's number. It was picked up at the third ring. "Yeah?"
    "Shoji?"
    "Hi Mom." He sounded weary, but somehow it was wrong, it was not just sleepiness of somebody who had been woken.
    "Shoji, did you attack another shrine?"
    He laughed, then grunted. "Ow, that hurt."
    "Are you okay?"
    "Yeah, Mom, I'll be okay. Don't know how you found out, it hasn't even hit the news yet."
    "The news? What happened?"
    Laughter again. Lighter, as if he was being careful not to move too much. "Well, basically we got our asses kicked."
    "Is Yui okay?"
    "Yeah, just a few cuts and bruises. I got one that really hurts, but I'll live."
    "Was anybody else hurt?"
    Shoji sighed heavily, causing static on the line. "These outsiders attacked us, I had to waste two of them. Then these chicks in skirts started tossing spells at us and we had to book."
    The Sailor Senshi, Kaori thought. Oh my God. "Shoji, I need you to tell me something. Did you hurt any of the women who were using spells?"
    "Akechi dropped one of them. Said he fried her brain."
    Kaori gasped. *That makes three.* At least the Matriarch didn't know about the Senshi. But it didn't matter, the offense was still a capital one. "Shoji, I'm going to have to inform the Matriarch right away."
    There was a slight pause. "Yeah, I thought you might."
    "You had better be prepared to present yourself to her."
    "No, I don't think so. You know what she would do."
    Yes, she knew. Full mindscan, at least a partial mindwipe. Attitude adjustment, as Himiko liked to call it. "Shoji, you know if you don't come to her she will send for you anyway."
    "Well, unless she gets here in the next two minutes, we're not going to be here."
    Kaori gasped. "Shoji, no! You can't-" The line went dead.
    She called back, got a busy signal. Probably off the hook or disconnected. She had no reason to disbelieve what he said. They were gone by now. They had gone rogue.
    By the time she got dressed, she had worked out what she would say to the Matriarch. She walked out into the garden, lighting her way with a glowing ball of plasma floating over her palm. She stepped onto one of the big flagstones and vanished.

    *****

    The uniformed officers at the gate told Saori where she could find the man in charge, the man who had called her. She climbed the long set of stairs, weaving her way between the tangle of fire hoses that snaked their way up. Must have had a hell of a time getting them up there, she thought.
    Nothing her colleague had told her could prepare her for what she saw. As he had said, it was as utterly different from the other sites as it could be. About the only thing the same was that the place was totalled. But this one had burned to the ground, and looked like it had been racked with explosions as well. There was debris everywhere. Firemen were still hosing down the smouldering ruins. Plumes of smoke rose up into a sky showing the first glimmer of dawn.
    She found who she was looking for. He saw her approach and waved, walking over to her. "Evening, Saori."
    "Good morning."
    He chuckled. "Well, the morning part anyway."
    "So you figure this is one of mine, huh?"
    He grinned. "I would very much like it to be."
    No doubt. Nobody wanted the Weird Shit on their plate. "Okay, convince me."
    "We only got to talk to the one witness for a minute."
    "Why, was she hurt?"
    He coughed nervously. "Uh ... no. It's a bit delicate. Her name is Hino."
    That took a moment to register. The city councillor. She sighed. "Relation?"
    "Daughter. We sent her straight to a safe house, last I heard she was sleeping."
    Councillor Hino had a less than cordial relationship with the chief of police. He was right, this was very delicate. "So what did she say in one minute?"
    "She got a good look at what we presume are the perps before they knocked her out. Guy with red hair, short girl. When she woke up, they were gone. Her friend didn't see a thing."
    "Friend?"
    He flipped open his notebook. "A miss Aino. Idol singer. Apparently on her way here to meet Hino-san, got here after it was all over."
    "So you want to hand this over to me basis that?"
    "No. I've been pressing the forensic guys for guesses on what happened. They're being very noncommittal. You know the way they get when they haven't got a clue."
    Well, that was going to change. Very, very quickly. "Okay, I'm convinced. Give me what you've got."
    He looked pleasantly surprised. And relieved. He flipped back through his notes. "Three dead. One identified as the witness' grandfather. Two others too badly burned to identify as yet. We suspect they are the two other residents, we're trying to get confirmation."
    "Let's have a look."
    Saori could see why forensics were being noncommittal. The stake through the old man's side looked like it had gone through with the speed of a rifle bullet, like shrapnel from an explosion. But the debris wasn't right for an explosion, even she could see that. More like it had been shot out of a cannon or something. The other two bodies were little more than charred skeletons, but one of them was nowhere near the buildings. Like he'd been struck by lightning.
    "There are signs that other people were here," her colleague said. "Multiple sets of footprints, though so far it's hard to make sense out of what happened."
    Saori grinned. "Excuse me for a moment, Lieutenant. I took the liberty of calling in somebody who just might be able to make sense of it. Back in a second." She walked over to meet the man who was approaching them. He had his big black case with him.
    "Morning, Saori-san," he said.
    "Morning." She and the forensics man hadn't gotten off to a great start, what with her always pressing him to make too many speculations too quickly. But he had gradually warmed up to her way of doing things, had gradually come to see that wild leaps of fancy could make the impossible make sense far better than doubetalk could. And they had found that they just plain liked each other. "Well, it's official, this is one of ours," Saori told him.
    He took a look around. "Rather different M.O."
    "Bodies too, this time."
    His expression darkened. "So you said. I assume work's been done already."
    "Yes, but they're all humming and hawing. We'll need to light a fire under them, make sure they say what they mean and mean what they say."
    "I'll get on it. So where are the Blues Brothers?"
    She sniffed. "Our Interpol colleagues went on a trip to Hokkaido yesterday. Some other business."
    "Right. Just like people go to Hawaii to take care of business."
    "Agent Takada did tell me to call him on his cellular if there were any further attacks." She glanced at her watch. "Now, do I want to get him up or do I want to let him get his beauty sleep?"
    "Perhaps you'll want to wait until my initial report."
    Saori smiled. "Yes, in fact I think that would be prudent." The Blues Brothers hadn't been any help to her, just poking about asking irrelevant questions. They could wait.
    Her forensics man went about his business, and Saori took a moment to look out over the city being lit by the slowly emerging dawn light. Juban. Why was that familiar? Oh yes, the first of her cases involving a Senshi sighting was near here. This was, after all, supposedly the heart of their territory, or their beat or whatever. And she also had an old friend living here. An old friend with a big secret.
    Maybe it was time to go pay him a visit, just for old times' sake. He should be back from his honeymoon in just a few days.

    *****

    Rei woke with a start. She took a shuddering breath. A nightmare, it had been a nightmare. Was everything okay now?
    No. It wasn't. It had been real.
    She remembered now. The house with all the police. Minako helping her wash herself, putting her to bed. Exhaustion taking over, forcing her into a fretful sleep. She whimpered, burying her face in the pillow.
    "Rei-chan?" A gentle voice. She sat up, becoming more aware of her surroundings. The room Minako had brought her to. She was in a white bathrobe, lying on top of the bedspread.
    Then the voice registered. *Her* voice. She turned around. "Usagi- chan ..."
    Usagi sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to her. Rei leaned over and they joined in a close, gentle embrace. Usagi was safe in her arms, Rei thought. Focus on that. Even if everything else was wrong, that one thing was right. If just that one thing was right, she could make it.
    Rei just wanted to stay like this, to have Usagi hold her, not say anything. But there was something Rei needed to ask. She leaned back a little, met Usagi's pain-filled blue eyes. "Usagi, how are Ami-chan and Mako-chan?"
    "They're both in a hospital. Ami woke up for a while. But she won't be moving for a couple of days. Jeneth says she can mend her broken bones in a couple of days. She'll be okay."
    "And Mako-chan?"
    Usagi hesitated. "She's ... still unconscious. Jeneth healed what the ESPer did to her before we took her to a hospital. We're not sure how long before she wakes up."
    "She's in a coma, isn't she?"
    Usagi nodded. "That's what they said."
    "Oh God." Rei clamped her eyes shut. No, not her too. She felt one of Usagi's hands move from their loose embrace, caress her cheek.
    She opened her eyes again. Usagi was looking very intently at her. She looked like she was very nervous about what she was about to say. "Rei-chan, do you remember what happened?" she asked very softly.
    Rei knew what she was really asking. She had to be very careful how she tried to answer, otherwise she knew she couldn't get the words out. "The ESPers attacked me. Miho and Yuichirou and my Grandfather all tried to fight them." She took a deep breath. "I'm the only one who survived."
    Usagi continued to lightly caress her cheek. "Rei, I'm so sorry," she said, her voice almost breaking. "I should have been here."
    Rei took her hand, held it tightly. "Usagi, I beg you. Don't blame yourself. Everybody's trying to blame themselves. Minako, Hotaru, everybody. Even me. We're not gods, we can't protect everybody."
    Usagi shook her head. "I just don't understand why. What do they want?"
    Rei jumped on the chance to have something practical to focus on, to divert her from contemplating the shattered wreckage of her life. "What that girl was doing to me, it felt like when the Death Busters took my heart crystal. Or when Galaxia took my Star Seed. Whenever some force of chaos is looking for human souls, we Senshi always seem to be on the short list. We may all be in danger." She surprised herself by showing a smile, albeit an ironic one. "It's just as well my house burned down. They saw me transform, they know who I am. It wouldn't have been safe for me there."
    Usagi gasped. "Oh God ... you don't think that's what happened to Mako-chan?"
    Rei shook her head. "No, the girl didn't get near her. It was the backstabber that did it. Jeneth called what he did to K'Theelm a psionic attack." She squeezed Usagi's hand, tried to smile. "K'Theelm survived it, I'm sure Mako-chan will pull through too."
    Usagi calmed down a bit. "Yes, I'm sure she will."
    Something occurred to Rei. "Where's Minako?" She had been in here when Rei had fallen asleep.
    "In the next room sleeping. She'd been here all night and all day, I said I'd watch over you. That was just a little while ago."
    "You and Mamoru must have just got here."
    She nodded. "Setsuna arranged a private jet. It sounds like she had it planned ahead of time."
    Rei stroked her hair. "I'm so glad you're here. I'd be lost without you."
    Usagi smiled. "I feel the same. They kept telling me you were okay. But until they let me in here to see you, I was so afraid."
    Rei frowned. "Did you have some trouble with the police?"
    "Just for a little while. They didn't want to tell me where you were. But Saori took care of everything."
    "Saori?" Rei vaguely remembered her, an old classmate of Mamoru's. But she didn't remember seeing her last night when the police arrived.
    "Yes. Mamo-chan talked to her. When we told her you were our friend, she had us driven here. Rei, he'd like to see you too."
    Rei nodded. "I'd like that."
    Usagi's expression sobered. "They said to tell you your father will be here this afternoon."
    Unbidden came the thought that this would be the first time in years she had seen her father on anything other than her birthday. "He's probably coming to tell me I can stay at one of his apartments. There's at least one he almost never uses." She felt no bitterness, just resignation. Her father gave her a family name, financial security and birthday presents, she had long since learned not to expect more.
    Usagi took both Rei's hands, looked earnestly into her eyes. "Rei, I've been talking to Mamo-chan. Until you can find a proper place to stay, a new home, we'd like you to stay with us."
    Rei was completely taken by surprise. She shook her head. "No, I couldn't. It wouldn't be right."
    "Wouldn't be right?" Usagi sounded almost angry. "Rei, what could be wrong about living with the two people who love you more than anyone in the world?"
    Rei thought of all the reasons. But put next to Usagi's simple words, they seemed so trite, not even worth mentioning. And suddenly she just couldn't even imagine doing anything different. "Thank you. I'll ... just crash on your couch or something until I can find a place."
    Usagi leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "You'll do no such thing. You and I will share a room and you can stay as long as you want. You can wear my things until we get you some new stuff. I know I have no fashion sense, but try to bear with it."
    Rei wiped a tear away and smiled. "Baka."

    *****

    It was the third funeral in as many days, but the first one Hotaru and her sister Senshi attended. The funeral for Rei's grandfather was a much larger, more public affair than the others had been. Despite his eccentricities, he had been a prominent, well respected member of the community. Setsuna had thought it best for them to attend just this one, so they could pay their respects while not being intrusive. As expected, Usagi and all the others were there with Rei. Everybody was very polite. Rei graciously accepted their condolences, told them she was happy they had come.
    It had been the most agonizing thing Hotaru had ever gone through in her life.
    Only Ami had been anything more than cordial towards her. Probably out of gratitude, if nothing else. She and Jeneth had been working on her day and night these past few days. She would still be walking with a cane for days more. But even that was remarkable, considering the injuries she had sustained.
    Nobody spoke for a long time, as Setsuna was driving them back home. Finally, Hotaru couldn't stand it any longer. "This was our fault. We should have been helping them fight the Ancients. We could have caught them long ago. Then none of this would have happened."
    "It's not your fault, it's mine."
    Hotaru looked at Setsuna sitting next to her. Her eyes were on the road, her face expressionless. "I allowed a powerful, unpredictable enemy to roam free," she continued. "And you're right, we probably could have caught them."
    "We should think about what we do next," Michiru said from the back seat.
    "That's simple," Haruka said. "We hunt them down and kill them. Setsuna, you know where this Ancient woman lives, right?"
    "Yes, but that knowledge does us no good. I told her what her son did, and by now she has informed their Matriarch. I've known other Ancients, and one thing I know about them is they show no mercy to their own kind who break their rules. Two of their strictest rules are never to harm outsiders and never to let outsiders see them use their powers. By now, the ones responsible have been severely punished, either killed or subjected to some psychic torture we cannot even imagine. That is unless they escaped and went rogue."
    "Went rogue?" Michiru asked.
    "My contact has alluded to Ancients who have left the family and gone into hiding, become outcasts for whatever reason. The point is, if the ones responsible are still at large, my contact is the last person who would know where they are."
    "Could your contact tell us why they attacked Rei?" Hotaru asked. She felt bad about how bitter that sounded.
    "I doubt it," Setsuna said, showing no reaction to Hotaru's tone. "She was obviously shocked when I told her that her son had killed somebody. He and his friends must have been acting on their own initiative. I can't imagine what their purpose might be."
    "I'm more concerned with how they found her," Haruka said. "We could all be in danger."
    "Yes, we could," Setsuna said. "Just as we always are when enemies are hunting people with strong spiritual energy. We all need to exercise caution."
    "Which means we need to warn the others," Hotaru said. "We need to tell them the truth."
    "They are already on their guard," Michiru said. "Nevertheless, I think they deserve to know what's going on."
    Hotaru wondered why they didn't deserve it before now. She wanted so much not to feel bitter, but this sudden turnabout seemed just a little too convenient.
    "I'll go to the Princess," Setsuna said. "I owe her an explanation. And an apology."
    "I think we should all go," Hotaru said. "We should go to her and tell her that we were wrong."
    After a moment, Setsuna nodded. "Very well. But I think we should wait a while. Rei-san is with them now, so we would be speaking with her as well. I don't think we should see her until she's had some time to recover."
    As reluctant as she was to admit, that made sense to Hotaru. "Poor Rei. Ami told me she and Yuichirou were going to be married."
    For just a moment, Setsuna's face held an expression of profound grief. "I ... was not aware of that." Hotaru suddenly regretted having said anything.
    "I had the vision again yesterday," Michiru said.
    Nobody needed to ask what she meant, or what the implications were. Setsuna had said that if the visions resumed, it meant that the Ancients were still working towards awakening the Seed Crystal, still on a path that could lead to the emergence of the Crystal Palace.
    "Setsuna, this really stinks," Haruka said. "Even if the ones who attacked Mars are some sort of rogues, it's got to be some indication of what the Ancients are really like. Being isolated the way they are, having those powers, they probably don't think much of outsiders. When push comes to shove, they probably wouldn't give a damn whether any of us lives or dies. For them to have control of the Palace, that's got to be worse than the Palace never existing at all. I think we should try and find out where this Seed Crystal is. We've got to get it out of their hands."
    "We are very unlikely to do that," Setsuna said. "They have protected it for millennia. If we move against them, all they will do is hunker down, hide in their most ancient places. Then the Palace could truly be lost to us."
    "To hell with the Palace!" Hotaru shocked herself as much as her companions with her outburst. Feeling badly, she took a moment to calm herself. "I'm sorry, but if the Palace needs to be fed the souls of people and holy places, if that's the only way to create it, then it's better that it never exist at all. It's an evil thing, we're better off without it."
    Setsuna sighed. "If I didn't think we would need it, I would say the same."
    Hotaru didn't want to get into an argument when she was this upset, no good could come of it. But she told herself she would hold Setsuna to her promise. When the time was right, they would go to the Princess and ask her forgiveness for their folly.

    *****

    It was the temple where her grandfather's funeral had been, the only place it could properly have been. Her grandfather's oldest and dearest friend had overseen this temple almost as long as he had overseen his own shrine. Though they might disagree on where the Kami and the Buddhas lay in the great scheme of things, they had been closest friends since long before Rei had been born. There was nobody else Rei would have wanted to help set her grandfather on his final, greatest journey.
    She approached the priest's residence, some small distance from the temple. The monk who answered the door greeted her warmly, recognizing her from her may visits. Even if her black dress of mourning were not a clue, everyone here would be well aware of the loss she had suffered.
    She was escorted to Hori Ichiro's tea room. The diminutive priest rose to greet her. He smiled warmly as he approached, dispensing with any formalities. "Hello, Rei. How are you feeling?"
    "Better, thank you."
    "Please, come sit down." She joined him at the little table, kneeling down on one of the cushions. He poured them tea. "Thank you for coming, Rei."
    "I'd have come soon even if you hadn't asked," Rei said. "I wanted to thank you again for conducting the service for my grandfather. And for Yuichirou and Miho."
    "Not at all," Ichiro said. "I had always hoped your grandfather would outlive me, you know. He had a sharp tongue but a warm heart. My many talks with him have been one of the great delights of my life. I can hardly imagine what it will be like without him."
    Rei smiled. "He felt the same way about you. He told me many times."
    "It's the young ones I feel worst about, though. Even a short life can be a good one. But it's never easy to accept. I hope you'll keep fond memories of them in your heart, Rei. Then you can never truly lose them."
    "I'll always remember them." It wasn't the first time he had spoken these words to her. But it still helped.
    "So you've done settling in?"
    "Yes."
    "It was very nice of your friend to take you in. Friends like that are a true blessing, especially in time of grief."
    A greater blessing that anybody could know, Rei thought. "Usagi is the closest thing to a sister I've ever had. She means more to me that I can say."
    "I've heard there are already plans to rebuild the shrine."
    "Yes. My father has been telling me about it." Over the phone, she neglected to mention. They had only met the once, a short, formal meeting. There had been no love lost between he and his father-in-law, so there was no thought of his feeling any grief. It was hard to say what was driving his single-minded pursuit of public funds to restore the shrine. Possibly the exercise of power was an end in itself. It was really too early for Rei to be able to have any feelings on the matter.
    Ichiro finished off his tea, set down the cup and cleared his throat. "Rei, I must confess I had another reason for asking you here today, besides ensuring myself that you are well. Two acquaintances of mine have informed me that they might have some information regarding the attack on Hikawa shrine."
    Rei frowned. "Are they from the police?"
    "No, strictly speaking they are not. However, they are aiding the police in their investigations. They have expressed an interest in meeting you."
    "I'd be happy to help them in any way I can," Rei said. "But I've already told the police everything I know. I don't know what more I could tell them."
    "As I said, they appear to have some information which they would like to discuss with you."
    Rei was beginning to wonder what this was about. "Of course. Tell them I'll meet them whenever they wish."
    "As a matter of fact, they are waiting in my study."
    That took Rei by surprise. "Why didn't you tell me? I'd have talked to them right away."
    "They said they didn't mind waiting. They've requested to meet you in private. It's rather irregular, but I trust these gentlemen implicitly, so I agreed to ask you on their behalf."
    Somehow this didn't sound right. "I don't understand. Why didn't they just come to the house I was staying at? Aren't they working with the police?"
    "Yes, in a manner of speaking. Forgive my rudeness, but since they asked to meet you alone, can I ask you to find your way to my study?"
    Rei knew the way. "Yes, of course." She didn't know quite what to make of this, but her curiosity was piqued. She excused herself, went back out into the hallway and walked to Ichiro's study. The rice paper panel was closed. "I beg your pardon," she called softly but clearly. "I'm Hino Rei."
    "Please come in," a man's voice called from within. She stood before the door and slid it open.
    As the priest had said, two men were waiting to see her. They both wore black suits and shaded glasses. One was a very handsome Asian man. Rei had to wonder why he had a Katana sheathed in black lacquer lying at his side. The other was a caucasian man, probably a bit older, with a very cold, grim face. They both were kneeling formally on the bamboo floor.
    The Asian man bowed. "I am Takada, this is my colleague Smith," he said in a soft but very formal tone. The other man also bowed.
    "I'm pleased to meet you," Rei said automatically.
    "Thank you for agreeing to see us," Takada said. "Please sit down."
    "Thank you." Rei closed the door behind her and knelt down in front of them. But for the sword sitting beside Takada, these two looked so ... ordinary. "His Grace told me you have some information regarding the attack on Hikawa shrine."
    "We might be able to shed some light on what happened," Takada said gravely. "But first, please allow me to express my sincere condolences."
    "Thank you."
    "I never had the pleasure of meeting your grandfather, but his Grace has spoken of him at length. It is a great loss for us all."
    "Yes," Rei said, again giving just the minimum reply required for politeness. She wondered who was the 'us' Takada referred to, it seemed an odd thing to say.
    "Let us introduce ourselves properly," Takada continued. "I am agent Takada, acting head of the Japan office of the Hidden branch of the Order." He bowed.
    "I am agent Smith, acting on behalf of the head office of the Hidden branch of the Order," Smith said in a somewhat harsh, gravelly, voice with a slight accent. He also bowed.
    Rei blinked. *Do they mean ... ? No, it couldn't be.* "I'm sorry, I was given to understand you represented a police organization," she said carefully.
    Takada smiled, which in itself surprised Rei. With his perfect deadpan, she had been starting to think of him as a Terminator wannabe. "I understand your confusion," he said, his tone much less stiff now. "You would have had no contact with our branch, working with the Fire Oracles at Hakone. Your Sensei Kozukuri probably never even mentioned us."
    *He knows about Kozukuri Onesama.* It was an old wound, one whose reopening would have hurt, had her more recent losses not made it seem so distant. Rei wanted to ask him more, but her guard was up more than ever now. "You're correct, my Sensei never mentioned you." She kept her voice just cold enough to indicate she was skeptical about his claimed relation to her former teacher.
    "I understand," he said, as if acknowledging her unspoken challenge. "By way of credentials, allow me to present this for your inspection." With that, he took the sword at his side by the scabbard, leaned forward and placed it between them with the hilt in easy reach of her.
    Rei was really beginning to wonder what this fellow was up to. "Forgive me, I don't understand. I don't know anything about swords, and even if I did I don't know what examining your sword will prove." She was having more and more trouble hiding her annoyance at his odd behaviour.
    "If you will indulge me, I believe you will find this blade of great interest. You need not observe the protocols, I will not take offense."
    That had been at the back of Rei's mind, in fact. She knew there were very strict protocols involved in examining a proffered blade, and she wasn't familiar with them. If this was really an antique blade the fittings certainly were not original, the scabbard and hilt appeared to be of some modern material, perhaps a plastic or ceramic. After a moment's hesitation, she decided it was easier to indulge him than argue. She took hold of the scabbard just above the hilt and raised the sword before her.
    When she took the hilt in her other hand, she held onto it for just a heartbeat. She forced herself to keep her shock hidden, to unsheathe the sword as if everything was normal.
    She went through the motions of examining the blade closely along its entire length. She frowned, despite herself. It had been a long time since she had seen one but ... yes, she was positive. Another shock, almost as bad as the first.
    At length, she carefully resheathed the sword and placed it between them. Takada took it, placed it back beside him, and watched her silently, his expression expectant but neutral.
    She glared at him. "As I said, I am no expert, but I've seen Masamune blades in museums. The pattern is very distinctive."
    He nodded, his expression showing perhaps a hint of surprise and admiration. "You are correct. In fact, it is the last blade he ever made."
    Rei's expression became even colder. "If the existence if this blade was known, it would be a designated national treasure. I really would like to know how it came to be in your private collection."
    "I have no collection as such," Takada said, sounding apologetic. "The blade is the property of the Order. As to how it came to be in our possession, I'm afraid that's classified."
    "Classified?" Rei said, no longer attempting to hide her anger. "What do you mean by that?"
    "I mean that I myself have no idea how the Order obtained the blade."
    "How very convenient," Rei said, now openly hostile.
    "I'm truly sorry, but I really can't shed any light on the blade's origins," Takada said. "Just as I have little idea how the blade came to possess the other properties you noticed."
    Rei decided there was no more point hiding it. "The blade has a spell cast on it. About all I can tell is that it's deeply hidden and very powerful."
    "It is a protective spell," Takada explained. "When wielded by one trained in its use, it affords protection against attacks originating from outside the material plane. Attacks from beings such as those who destroyed your shrine."
    *So he knows about the ESPers, too.* Rei was certain he was withholding things, but he seemed to be openly acknowledging that. She had no indication that what he was telling her was a lie. Maybe he was part of the same Order her Sensei had been in. Maybe he did have something useful to tell her. She decided to throw out a line. "Takada-san, are you trying to tell me that my grandfather and my ... my friends were killed by monsters?"
    Takada's expression remained neutral. He suddenly did seem to take on the manner of the police she had been expecting to find here in Ichiro's office. "We have strong evidence that the people who attacked your shrine are members of an extended family known as the Ancients. We also believe them to be responsible for the destruction of the other shrines and temples that have taken place in Tokyo these past few weeks. Our knowledge of the Ancients is sketchy. They have lived here in Japan for many generations, but have generally lived somewhat apart from the rest of the population. In the past, they were often mistaken for Ainu, to whom they may even be related. Many members of this family are known to have abilities that might be described as paranormal. Some are very powerful, with the ability to cause large objects to move or spontaneously combust from a distance. After having examined the grounds of your shrine, we have concluded that people with such powers must have been responsible."
    "I see." There was little Rei could ask without revealing more than what she should. She just waited, seeing if Takada would offer more.
    "Rei-san," Smith said, getting her attention. "You had told the police that you saw your attackers throwing what looked like something which had been set on fire, and that you saw what appeared to be explosions in the buildings. In light of what my colleague has told you, would you choose to reassess those conclusions?"
    Rei chose her words very carefully. "I don't fully understand what I saw. But it could be as you say. They could have been using powers such as you describe."
    Smith nodded. "Thank you for answering honestly." He now sounded even more like a cop doing an interrogation than Takada did. "There are two more points that have come to light. They are from a source which is less reliable than what we would like, so they should be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, keeping that in mind I would like to mention these points, to see if they might mean more to you than they do to us."
    Rei nodded, genuinely curious now. "Please, go ahead."
    "The first is that the Ancients appear to have in their possession an artifact known as the Seed Crystal. We believe their attacks on the temples are somehow related to this artifact." He looked expectantly at her.
    Rei just shook her head. "I've never heard of any such thing."
    "No matter. The second point is that the Ancients seem to have become aware of somebody who might be watching their activities, may try to interfere with them. They don't seem to know much about them, and unfortunately we know even less. About all we've found out is that they appear to be living or operating in the vicinity of 3-chome Shinjuku." Again, he waited.
    Rei managed to maintain a neutral expression. "I'm sorry, that means nothing to me."
    "I see." He suddenly smiled. Rei wouldn't have thought that craggy face could have looked so friendly. "Well, thanks all the same. It was very kind of you to meet with us."
    Rei found herself smiling, responding to his sudden change in manner. "Not at all."
    "I feel badly, asking to see you on false pretences," Takada said, his manner now also more relaxed. "We probably haven't told you much more than you already knew. A spiritualist of your calibre must have realized those were no ordinary people."
    "I had my suspicions," Rei acknowledged. "I wasn't lying when I told the police they may have been using some sort of explosives. It all happened so quickly, I couldn't be sure of anything." Something else occurred to her, and she decided to put out another probe. "The police never asked me this sort of question, they seemed to have no idea the attackers might be ESPers."
    Takada smiled. "I believe our colleague Saori-san has just about gathered enough evidence that she is willing to accept that conclusion."
    *Aha.* "As it would happen, Saori is an old friend of my current roommates. She attended their wedding, and my friend tells me she mentioned two Interpol agents who were working with her."
    In response, Takada reached into his jacket pocket, and flipped open a badge. "As Kozukuri Sensei no doubt told you, the Order must operate under many guises."
    "I see," Rei said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you've told me what you know. I'm just wondering why you've told me more than you seem to have told the police."
    "Because you're ready to hear it," Takada said simply. "There is never any point telling somebody a truth they aren't ready to hear."
    Rei wasn't sure how she could respond to that. "Do you have some hope of catching these ... Ancients?"
    "I confess, we are a long way from doing that," Takada said. He reached into his outside jacket pocket, drew a calling card out of a little case and held it out to Rei. "If you have any further questions or information regarding this matter, please don't hesitate to call me anytime."
    Rei leaned forward and took the card. She examined it. It had the name Takada Hitoshi and what was probably the number of a cellular phone. Nothing more. "Thank you, I will."
    "Then, we won't take up any more of your time. Thanks again for speaking with us, we'll just see ourselves out."
    She followed them back to Ichiro's tea room, where they said goodbye to their host. Rei stayed a little longer to talk with Ichiro about a few matters. On her way back to the apartment, she was thinking about the two enigmatic men she had met, about what they had told her.
    Foremost in her mind was the area of the city Smith had mentioned, 3- chome Shinjuku. She wondered just how the Ancients could have found out what district the Refugees were living in.

End Chapter 8