Magical Girl Pretty Ruri
Episode Nine: A New Soldier Appears
By Tailkinker and Kitsy
tailkinker@home.com, kitsy@home.com



   *DISCLAIMER*
   Warning:   Java compilation error.  Insufficient  coffee.
Due  to  this, none of the characters, situations and  sites
belong  to  the  authors of this story.  They are  currently
just used to explore the effects of sleep deprivation.
   
   “The  life of a Magical Girl is far from easy.  The  foes
seem  to  get tougher every day, and the speeches harder  to
take.   At  this  point, I’m surprised Megumi hasn’t  gotten
into  it.   She  played a Magical Girl once,  when  she  was
working as a voice actress.  Before the Nadesico.
   “But this isn’t an anime.  Well, you know.”
   
   Tail Kinker and Kitsy present
   Magical Girl Pretty Ruri
   
   Episode Nine:
   A New Soldier Appears
   
   “Ruri!   Wake up!  Honestly, you’d sleep your whole  life
away.”  The banging on the door subsided.
   Ruri groaned, and sat up.  “Once again...”
   The  cat yawned and stretched.  “So why didn’t your alarm
clock go off this time?”
   Ruri  staggered over to the computer and squinted at  the
screen.  Then stepped back in confusion.
   “It isn’t even on.”
   “Are you sure?”
   “Yes,  I’m sure.”  She touched the power button  and  the
computer flared to life.  “It was in standby mode.  When the
power failed, it powered down.”
   “That’s...odd.”
   “Must  be  a  Microsoft  thing.”   She  glanced  at   the
computer’s  clock.  “At least I have twenty minutes  to  get
ready  to go.”  She grabbed a school uniform and headed  for
the bathroom.
   “Ahem...”  The cat pawed her on the way by.
   “What?  I’ll feed you when I’m done getting dressed.”
   “Well, that could take you a while...”  The cat pawed the
dresser.
   Ruri groaned.  “Right.”  She grabbed a pair of socks  and
some undergarments, then resumed her mad dash.
   “Like mother, like daughter...”
   
   * * * * *
   
   “Ruri!  Let’s go!”
   Ruri finished gulping down her soup, grabbed her bookbag,
and  ran  to  join  Megumi.   Megumi  grabbed  her  arm  and
proceeded to drag her off towards the school.
   “We get our tests back today.  I bet I know how you did.”
   Ruri smirked.  “I bet I aced it.”
   “No way.  No way in hell.  It’s strictly impossible.”
   “Oh,  really?”  Ruri pulled up to a halt.  “I bet you  an
ice cream sundae that I aced the test.”
   Megumi  considered  it.  “One of your ice  cream  sundaes
would beggar me...but sure.  It’s not like I’m gonna lose.”
   “I  hope  you have a lot of money on hand.”  Ruri resumed
her mad dash to the school.
   
   * * * * *
   
   The  old woman yawned as she closed the door behind  her.
She picked up the water bucket and ladle and began her daily
task of spreading water in front of her house.  It was a bit
old-fashioned,  she admitted;  not too many  people  did  it
anymore,  and  there wasn’t too much dust on  the  roads  in
modern times.  But she was nothing if not old fashioned.  It
was  almost a point of pride for her.  And it’s not like she
ever splashed anyone intentionally...
   “Ruri, watch out!  There’s a puddle--”
   She  stepped  back in a hurry, to see a small pale-haired
girl  hit  the  patch of wet concrete and go  sliding.   She
shook  her  head.   Why  was  it  that  young  girls  seemed
attracted to water this way?
   Ruri’s  arms  were  windmilling, as her flat-soled  shoes
hydroplaned  across the wet pavement.  Her  headlong  flight
was  arrested  by  her  smacking face-first  into  someone’s
chest.   Out  of reflex, her arms flew forward  and  wrapped
around the person she’d impacted.
   “Oh, this is cute!”  Megumi giggled.
   “Well, hello, Chibi-Usa!”
   Ruri  looked  up suddenly.  “A...Akito?”  Her  face  felt
horribly  warm;   detachedly, she mused  that  she  probably
looked like a beet right now.
   “Lucky he was there to save you, eh?”
   Akito grinned down at her.  “Comfortable?”
   Ruri  let  go of him and stepped back as quickly  as  she
could.  She lost her footing and fell down on her backside.
   “Ite!”
   “Just like you to klutz out in front of your boyfriend.”
   “You die later.”
   Akito  reached down to help her to her feet.  “I  had  no
idea you felt that way.”
   Megumi turned and continued on her way to school.   “I’ll
just leave you two alone.  Ruri, try not to be to late.”
   “Ack!  School!”  Glad of the escape, Ruri turned and  ran
down the street.
   Akito grinned as he watched the two girls run off.   “You
know...she’d kinda be cute if she weren’t such a klutz.”
   
   * * * * *
   
   Homeroom 2-E.
   Ryoko stood as Uribitake entered the room.  “Stand.  Bow.
Sit down.”
   “Misumaru Yurika.”
   “Present.”
   “Amano Hikaru.”
   “Present.”
   “Subaru Ryoko.”
   “Hi there.”
   Uribitake stopped the roll call long enough to  glare  at
Ryoko.
   “Hoshino Ruri.”
   Silence.
   “Hohino Ruri.”
   *BANG*
   *CRUNCH*
   “Present!”
   “Also late.  Go stand in the hall.  You too, Megumi.”
   
   * * * * *
   
   “Did  you  have to knock all the desks out  of  alignment
like that?”
   “Hey,  it’s not my fault they put them that close to  the
door.  Besides, I didn’t want to be late.”
   “I thought you’d be used to that by now.”
   “Megumi...you’re mean.”
   “Am I?”
   “Yes.”
   “Okay.  Then there shouldn’t be a problem with my telling
Yurika about your little...encounter...with Akito.”
   “What encounter?”
   “Well,  you  with  your  arms around  him,  nuzzling  his
chest.”
   “It’s not like that!  You know that!”
   The  door slammed open.  Yurika grabbed Ruri by the shirt
collar.  “You leave my Akito alone!”
   “He even has a pet name for her!”
   “A PET NAME!?”
   “Hai.  He called her ‘Chibi-Usa.’”
   *SMACK*
   “Ite!”
   The  chalkboard brush flipped around several times  after
impact, before landing at Yurika’s feet.
   “If  you really wish to stand in the hall, fine!  But  be
quiet!”
   “H...Hai.”
   
   * * * * *
   
   “Now,  class, I have here the results of the  examination
that  you  took this Tuesday, and I am pleased to say  that,
without  exception,  the  results  were  quite  good.”   The
science teacher passed the exams to Ryoko;  as class rep, it
was  her  job to hand them back to the students.   “However,
one of these examinations was so well done that I was forced
to   disbelieve  the  results.   It  was,  in  my   opinion,
impossible  that this student could conceivably have  scored
so  high  after  having  repeatedly demonstrated  so  little
ability  to  study or aptitude for the sciences in  general.
Therefore,  I  have come to the inescapable conclusion  that
this  student in all probability--no, absolutely  must  have
had  access  to  an  advance copy of the  examination.”   He
stopped  directly in front of Ruri’s desk.   “This  sort  of
obvious cheating cannot and will not be tolerated, as it  is
demeaning  to not only the student in question, but  to  the
entire  class,  and to a degree, the entire Japanese  school
system.”   He looked down at Ruri.  “Hoshino Ruri, you  will
take  this examination again.  It will be a new examination,
prepared only minutes before you receive it.”
   “But I didn’t cheat.”
   “I  find  that  difficult  to believe.   After  all,  you
completed  the test far ahead of the rest of the class,  and
your  result was one hundred percent.  Whereas, your  normal
results  for  science examinations is around sixty  percent.
The  highest you have ever scored is seventy-three percent.”
He  walked  away.   “You  will have a  chance  to  vindicate
yourself on the make-up examination.”
   Ruri  was  strongly tempted to Mars Guardian Make-Up  and
Gravity Blast this asshole into next week.
   ~  I  am  not  a  violent person...I  am  not  a  violent
person...I am not a violent person...~
   “Hey,  Ruri.   I’m  not buying you that  ice  cream.   It
doesn’t count if you cheated.”
   “Lean...where did you get the advance copy, anyway?”
   “Yukina!  You wouldn’t cheat on a test, would you?”
   “...No...”
   “Well, Ruri IS a really good computer hacker...”
   “Minna baka.”
   
   * * * * *
   
   Tsukumo  pulled  a massive tome from the  bookshelf.   He
opened  it and scanned through the text, mumbling under  his
breath.
   “Hoping  to find some mystical secret, like the  identity
of Magical Girl Pretty Ruri?”
   Tsukumo  blinked, and looked up at Genichiro.  The  other
Dark  General was leaning against the desk, arms crossed  in
front of his chest.
   “Well, so far you’ve been of little or no help.”  Tsukumo
snapped the book shut.  “Perhaps the answer is here;  I just
haven’t found it.”
   “The answer is staring you in the face.”
   Tsukumo looked at the book, puzzled.
   “No,  you  idiot.   Think.  One mortal  has  consistently
blundered into the midst of your operations, and every  time
she  does, Ruri shows up to rescue her.  What does that tell
you?”
   “Hmmm...that there is some insidious plot, by some higher
forces, to keep that girl in danger of monster attacks?”
   “Ah...No.”
   “That she’s a designated victim?”
   “No!  It should tell you that this person obviously means
something to Pretty Ruri!  Continually expose her to danger,
and you will flush the target out.”
   Tsukumo frowned.  “I don’t know if I like this idea.”
   “Remember, the Martian Warriors existed to protect  their
princess.  Maybe this Megumi person is the princess.”
   “Possibly...She  does  have a very  high  Kirlian  aura.”
Tsukumo  nodded.  “Just as easily, though, I could take  her
hostage.  Use her as bait in an elaborate trap!”
   Genichiro  sighed.   “You’d  never  make  a  truly  great
villain.   Still, I suppose that that might work.   Just  do
yourself  a favour:  make it a simple trap.  They work  just
as well, and they’re a lot easier to set up.”
   “A good point.  And, of course, they cost less money.”
   
   * * * * *
   
   Akito rang the sale into the till and handed the customer
her  change.  “Thank you, come again!”  As she left, he  sat
down behind the counter and mopped his brow.
   Houmei  stepped  through the doors from  the  back  room.
“Akito, we just got a new shipment at the back.  If you want
to put it away, I’d really appreciate it.”
   “Sure!  You can cover the front?”
   “Hai.”
   Akito  hopped  up  and headed for  the  back  door.   The
shipment  was small;  mostly fruit, and about twenty  litres
of  vanilla  ice  cream.  It was a quick restock  after  the
power  failure,  and would hold them until  their  next  big
order.   Assuming, of course, that Chibi-Usa did not  happen
by for a snack.
   He  smiled at the thought of Ruri.  She was a cute  girl,
if  a  little uncertain on her feet, and obviously had  some
horrible  crush on him;  no doubt encouraged by her  mother.
He glanced down at the fruit as he put it away.
   “An  orange wouldn’t take too much out of my pay...”   He
selected  a  nice, large one, and though about the  look  on
Ruri’s  face as he handed it to her...looking up at him  and
thanking him...brown hair in twin pigtails...No, Ruri’s hair
was  pale...A flash of yellow, with a crimson eye...many red
eyes, glowing in the darkness...
   “They’re back.”
   
   * * * * *
   
   Tsukumo  faded into the girl’s restroom of the school,  a
Batto  Golem  on  either  side of him.   Megumi  gasped  and
stumbled back a step, dropping an armload of books.
   “You will come with me.”
   Megumi’s face flushed red.  “O...okay.”
   Tsukumo blinked.  ~That was way too easy.~
   
   * * * * *
   
   Ruri popped open the bento and looked at the contents.
   “Your mother gave you curry for lunch?”
   Ruri  glanced up at Yurika.  “I don’t think it was  meant
to be curry...”
   “Looks like curry.”
   “I  think that when I slipped this morning, the  food  in
the bento got...scrambled.”
   “Well, food is food.”
   Ruri  shuddered,  but she was far too  hungry  to  merely
discard  the food.  She tore into it, hoping to get  it  all
put away before the taste hit.
   “You know, you really do eat like a Sailor Scout.”
   “Baka.”
   “Run run run pant pant pant pant...”
   “What’s wrong, Yukina?”
   “Ruri...Megumi...bathroom...books...note...”
   Ruri leaned forward.  “What’s wrong?”
   Yukina dropped a note in Ruri’s hands.  Ruri scanned it.
   Yurika leaned over.  “What does it say?”
   Ruri  read  from  the note.  “‘To whom  it  may  concern;
Young  Megumi  has  been taken hostage.   If  you  wish  her
released  safely,  notify Pretty Ruri  to  meet  me  at  the
park.’”
    “What is she, Designated Monster Bait?”
   “Blink...”
   Ruri stood up.  “Yukina, go call the police.”  She handed
her the note.  “When they get here, give them this.”
   “Okay.”  Yukina ran off.
   “Why did you do that?  The police are the last people  we
want around right now.”
   “Wrong.   Yukina is the last person we want around  right
now.   The  police are a close second.  Besides, it’ll  will
take  the  police a year and a day to get organized.”   Ruri
grabbed  Yurika’s  arm  and dragged her  around  behind  the
school.  She glanced both ways, to ensure that no-one  could
see them, then pulled out the Kasei no Henshin.
   “Mars Guardian, Make-UP!”
   The  light seared her eyes, all blue and gold.   The  air
around  her  rippled, and she felt waves of incredible  heat
pounding  her.  Her clothes shredded and re-formed into  the
blue  skirt,  tight-fitting golden bodysuit  and  long  blue
boots  and  gloves.  The tiara formed on her brow,  and  the
Henshin lengthened to quarterstaff proportions.
   Yurika pulled out her own Henshin and shouted the command
phrase.  “Mars Warrior, Make-UP!”
   Flames  seemed to dance around her, burning the  clothing
off  of  her, then reforming itself into a short red  skirt,
white  bodysuit,  thigh-height red boots,  elbow-length  red
gloves  and  a bow at the back, red and white striped.   Her
hair lightened, and shifted to a flame-red colour.  A silver
tiara, with a single red gem centered in it, appeared on her
brow.  The Henshin stick lengthened and curved in on itself,
becoming a silver bow.
   The  two  jumped up to the roof of the school and bounded
towards the park.
   ~Don’t worry, Megumi.  We’re on our way.~
   
   * * * * *
   
   Megumi wasn’t worried.
   On  the  other hand, Tsukumo was starting to  get  really
worried.   Ever  since he had kidnapped this girl,  she  had
been hanging off of his arm, gazing up at him with stars and
hearts  in  her  eyes.   It was like she  had  no  sense  of
reality.
   “Umm...why are you looking at me like that?”
   Megumi  blushed, and looked down at her  feet.   “Because
you’ve been really sweet to me.  And you took me out on this
wonderful date.”
   “Uh...date?”
   “And to such a romantic place.”  She sighed.  “Can we  go
for  a ride on the boats.  They have those cute little  swan
paddle boats here.  Want a corn dog?”
   “Huh?”
   “They  have great corn dogs here.  That yatai over  there
sells them.  They also have hamburgers - done western style,
nice  and rare - and french fries.  Come on, it’ll be great!
My treat.”
   “I  don’t think--”  But he was already being dragged  off
towards  the yatai.  There was a rustling in the  bushes  as
the Golems tried desperately to keep formation.
   “Two  corn dogs, please!”  Megumi slapped a thousand  yen
bill on the yatai.  Tsukumo gulped.
   “They’re five hundred each?!”
   “Well, yeah.  But they’re worth it.”
   Ruri  and Yurika were seated on a rooftop at the edge  of
the park, watched the goings-on with disbelief.
   “THIS is a kidnapping?”
   Ruri  almost smiled.  “Maybe we should consider going  in
for the rescue.”
   “I don’t think she wants to be rescued!”
   “I wasn’t talking about Megumi.”
   The  Golems shuffled around again, following their leader
as he was dragged along to the docks.
   “At  least  it’s  easy  to track him.   Just  follow  the
Golems.”
   Megumi poked the boatman.  “Hi!  I’d like to rent a  swan
boat for fifteen minutes!”
   “Five hundred yen.”
   Yurika  grinned.  “You suppose the Battos are gonna  swim
after them?”
   “It would make our lives easier.”
   The  Battos  proved  to be a little smarter  than  Yurika
expected;   they  rapidly encircled the lake,  still  trying
vainly to maintain their cover.  Yurika sighed.  “Well, they
make a cute couple.”
   “Kind of like me and Akito.”
   “Are you looking to pick up a Flame Arrow?”
   “Baka.”
   In   the  boat,  Tsukumo  was  trying  not  to  let   his
nervousness show.  Not only was Pretty Ruri late to show up,
but  he had no support if he were attacked here - the Golems
couldn’t swim.  And for that matter, neither could he.
   Megumi  trailed  a  hand  in  the  water.   “Isn’t   this
peaceful?”
   “Yeah...peaceful...You wanna pedal for a while?”
   “Thank you for this lovely date.”
   “I thought that my taking you to the park was--”
   “Really really sweet!  Thank you!”
   Tsukumo gave up.  There was just no convincing this  girl
that  her life was in danger here.  At least, not from  him.
He  steered  the boat back towards the dock, and helped  her
out  of the boat.  She grabbed his hand and dragged him  off
towards the swings.
   Yurika  stood up.  “All right, I think he’s had  all  the
punishment he can stand.  Let’s go rescue Megumi.”
   “Right.”  Ruri stood and drew her pistol.
   Megumi was trying to convince Tsukumo to push her on  the
swing  when  there was an explosion from one of the  bushes.
Tsukumo  grabbed Megumi, and concentrated, mentally summoned
the Battos.
   A  Batto  head bounced over the bush and came to rest  at
his feet, smoking.
   ~Not a good omen.~
   The  other  fifteen  Battos formed  a  protective  circle
around  him.  He looked around for the source of the attack,
but saw nothing.
   “What, no stupid opening speech today?”
   Yurika and Ruri dropped into the playground.  Yurika  was
gasping  for  breath.   “Sorry...I fell  behind...you  would
kidnap this innocent child, this youth...”
   Megumi gave her an odd look.  “I’m not that young.”
   Tsukumo smirked.  “Or that innocent.”
   Yurika  continued, unfazed.  “...and take  her  for  your
evil plans!”
   “You had evil plans for me?  Tell me more!”
   “It’s not like that!”
   “Oh really?”  Ruri smirked.  “Then why did you kidnap her
from the girl’s washroom?”
   “Ack!”
   “In the name of the Martian Successors, prepare to be--”
   “Enough, Yurika.  I don’t think they care.”  Ruri  raised
the plasma pistol, then hesitated.  “We can’t fire on them!”
   “Why  not?   Flame Arrow!”  Yurika raised  the  bow,  and
pulled  back  the string.  A flaming arrow appeared  at  her
fingertips.   She  aimed at a Golem, and let  it  fly.   The
arrow  smashed into the Golem, blowing it to fragments,  but
the blast came close enough to Megumi to send her right into
Tsukumo’s arms.
   Tsukumo glanced down at her - and then back up, hopefully
fast enough that she didn’t notice where he’d looked...
   Ruri  holstered the pistol and readied her  quarterstaff.
“We can’t use any energy attacks.  The risk to Megumi is too
great.  Distortion Field!”  Ruri spun the staff in front  of
her.   A  glowing  blue cloud formed all  around  her,  then
stabilized into a light blue sphere.
   “Great.   So  I have to go hand to hand, while  you  hide
behind  your shield.  Flare Punch!”  Yurika’s fist glowed  a
bright  orange, and there was a blast of light when she  hit
the Golem.  It staggered back, head caved in.
   “Tornado  Kick!”   Yurika’s body spun around  a  complete
three hundred and sixty degrees, and her foot impacted  with
another  Golem,  knocking it into the air.   Ruri  drew  the
plasma pistol and took aim at the flying Golem.
   “Pull!”
   *ZORCH*
   Tuxedo Ken dropped into the fray, seemingly from nowhere,
sword  drawn.  “Blazing Slash!”  The massive sword glowed  a
dull  red,  and as Tuxedo Ken swung it, it left a  trail  of
fire  in  the  air.  The flaming crescent blew  through  two
Golems.
   Tsukumo  observed the wreckage and began to worry.   Five
Golems  down in under five seconds, and it seemed  that  the
Martian Successors were not going to slow down anytime soon.
He waved his hand, and ten more Golems appeared.
   Ruri gasped.  “He can call these things all day, and they
will  eventually wear us down.  We have to get  Megumi  away
from him.”
   “There’s  no way.”  Tuxedo Ken shook his head.  “None  of
our  physical attacks will affect him, and we cannot use any
high-power  attacks with Megumi in the middle of the  target
area.”
   “We’re done this time!”  Yurika was gasping for air.   “I
don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.”
   There  was  a  flash  of movement behind  Tsukumo.   Ruri
blinked.
   Standing  on the climbing dome behind Tsukumo and  Megumi
was  a  girl, dressed similarly to herself and Yurika.   She
blinked again, unwilling to trust her eyes.
   The  girl  was,  in almost every way, a dead  ringer  for
Sailor  V.   Her skirt, and the bow behind it, were  a  dark
golden  colour,  and  her jumpsuit was  white.   Low  golden
boots, golden gloves and a tiara with a yellow gem completed
the  ensemble.  Her hair was held back from her face by  two
small  barrettes, but the bulk of it was unrestrained.   She
raised a hand and pointed at Tsukumo.
   “Static Haze!”
   The ground under Tsukumo’s feet exploded upward, dust and
soil rising up all around him and obscuring his vision.   As
he  flailed about, trying to find his assailant, he  felt  a
foot impact with the back of his head.
   The  Sailor  V  clone landed beside Ruri, Megumi  in  her
arms.
   “Your target area is clear.”
   “Oh, crap.”  Tsukumo managed to make the jump back to the
Dark World, just in time...
   Ruri  held the quarterstaff in front of her, eyes closed.
A  wind  began to swirl around her, and her hair  fluttered,
drawn  out  to its full length.  She opened her eyes,  swept
the  staff  around  her  and brought it  to  rest,  pointing
directly at him.
   “Gravity Blast!”
   A  black  field of energy formed around the  tip  of  the
staff,  then  flowed down to encompass Ruri completely.   It
swelled  outward, and exploded into a cone of black  energy.
The  remaining Golems, lacking direction, merely  stood  and
absorbed the blast, and were blotted out of existence.
   The  Sailor V clone tilted her head.  “Sirens.  Best  not
be  here for when the police show up.  Too many questions to
answer.”  She turned, leaping onto the climbing dome again.
   “Wait!  Who are you?”
   “You’ll find out soon enough.”  From the dome, she  leapt
off, clearing several trees, and disappeared.
   Yurika  walked  up  to  Ruri.  “You  know,  she’s  right.
Thanks, Tuxedo Ken--Drat!  He’s gone, too!”
   Megumi smacked Yurika.  “You wrecked my date!”
   
   * * * * *
   
   Yurika glared at the beanbag chair, currently occupied by
Omoikane.    “You  know,  this  cat  of  yours  is   awfully
worthless.  At least Luna goes out and helps in the  fight.”
She flopped down on the bed.
   Ruri scowled.  “Now I see why you hurried up here.”   She
sat down on the pink chair and shuddered.
   “So who do you figure that blonde woman was?”
   “I have no idea.”
   “Oh, the third Soldier has shown up?”
   “You know about this?”
   “Yes.   Control notified me that she’d be  here  to  help
out.   Her  assistance should prove invaluable in  defeating
the Dark World.”
   “Maybe  she  knows  why we’re all here!”   Yurika  looked
excited.  “Maybe she can exp--ITE!”
   Omoikane  sheathed  his claws.  “That’s  for  calling  me
worthless.”
   
   * * * * *
   
   Author’s Notes:
   Hi,  Kenko.  :)  We haven’t seen anything from you in  so
long we’re going into withdrawal.
   Comments and Criticism can be sent to tailkinker@home.com
or  to  kitsy@home.com.  This story tends to be archived  at
both www.geocities.com/groves_ca and members.home.net/kitsy.
Finally, there is a mailing list associated with this story.
To   subscribe,   send  mail  to  tailkinker@home.com   with
‘subscribe  MGPR’ as the subject.  Oh, and  in  case  you’re
wondering, we choose who gets top billing in the  C&C  blurb
by  playing  jan-ken-pow.  Hey, it worked  for  picking  the
captain of the Nadesico.  :)