[Afternoon, Day 5]

Walking the streets of Nerima was much different for the nine Sailor Senshi than what they were used to. In Juuban, they were celebrities and had abilities beyond mere mortals. But in the half an hour they had been there, they had seen mere mortals with abilities beyond Sailor Senshi.

And no one thought it extraordinary.

But they continued on.

Makoto saw some one jump from the street level up to a multi-story building's roof. As Sailor Jupiter, all she succeeded in doing was embarassing herself and injurying her pride.

They continued on for a bit more, until they heard from behind, "Look what we have here, the Sailor Senshi."

The nine Senshi spun around and found that three girls had snuck up upon them.

The three girls each wore black Kung Fu slippers and pants with a red Chinese silk blouse. The outfit was very form-fitting, almost a second skin of silk. Panels of fabric were missing, allowing cleavage and upper thigh to show. Two of them had swords on their left hips, while the middle girl had a sword over her left shoulder. All three were eighteen or so. They had athletic bodies, and the swords seemed to be functional.

"So what is a bunch of cheerleaders doing out in the real world?" the girl on the right taunted.

Sailor Uranus wanted to say something, but kept silent, recognizing the taunt for what it was.

Sailor Mars remarked, "We are the Sailor Senshi, Warriors of Love and Justice!"

Sailor Venus stated, "Little girls shouldn't play with sharp objects."

The three High School Seniors just smirked at the Senshi, uncaring of the two girls' heated words.

Before Sailor Uranus could warn her team-mates, Sailor Mars got into one of the High School Seniors face and exclaimed, "Just who do you think you are! We are the Sailor Senshi!"

Sailors Moon and Venus, following Mars' example, and got in the faces of the other two High School Seniors.

The other Senshi could only blink in surprise at Moon's action. They could understand, somewhat, Mars and Venus's reactions, but not Moon's.

Whether it was Sailors Mars, Venus, or Moon who threw the first slap/punch, no one knew, but then all three's slaps landed in quick succession.

The term catfight has been used to describe the fighting or bickering between females. Nabiki, in observing the three High School Seniors and the nine Sailor Senshi, felt the term was very appropiate.

The Sailor Senshi quickly learned that their magical attacks took too long to use against the three High School Senior-girls, as well as, when they did get one off, the attack struck a fellow Senshi. Thus Sailors Pluto and Saturn fell quickly to friendly fire.

Sailors Uranus, Jupiter, and Mercury hung back, not wanting to give Ranma-sama a bad impression of them, as they felt this was some kind of test.

Several punches, kicks, scratches, hair-pulling, and biting were exchanged in rapid succession.

When one of the High School Seniors went to use a more advanced technique on Sailor Moon, Sailor Uranus stepped in and countered it to the surprise of the Senior.

The fight between Sailor Uranus and the High School Senior quickly escalated with the drawing of the Senior's sword, forcing Uranus to active her Space Sword.

The ring of the two metal swords clashing together brought the fighting around them to a stop.

Sailors Mars, Venus, Moon, and Neptune were down. Sailor Jupiter had several cuts and bruises that her Senshi magic were healing, while Sailor Mercury had only a few, as she dodged and avoided most attacks.

Uranus and the High School Senior jumped back, giving themselves some room to size up their opponent.

Uranus smirked and mocked, "Do we pass your test, sweetie?"

The High School Senior looked back at her and took in the battlefield.

Uranus stated, "Yes, we need training." Looking over those fallen, and remarked, "Some more then others. But that's why we're here."

The High School Senior had a brief look of concentration on her face, before a scowl replaced it. At a nod, one of the other High School Seniors took out what looked like a playing card. To the amazement of the Senshi, she dropped it on the ground, where it landed on its edge. The card quickly expanded into a Torii, much like the prayer gates at Hikawa Shrine, save that this Torii had doors, which were closed. The doors opened to a long, semi-dark hallway.

The downed Senshi were coming to, thanks to their magic. Pluto and Saturn glared at those that hit them with their magic. The others looked sheepish as Uranus explained it was all a test, and pointed out that they needed formal training, as shown just a few moments ago.

A subdued group of nine Sailor Senshi and the three High School Seniors walked down the hallway in silence.

All of a sudden the hallway disappeared and they found themselves in a open grassy plain.

All they could see was grass, as far as the eye could see. White, fluffy clouds dotted the otherwise clear blue sky.

A gentle, warm light was present, but lacked any obvious source.

"This one welcomes thee," a buxom silver-blonde bombshell formally stated. She wore white-leather high-heels that were laced up her tanned, toned calves. She was wearing the smallest white-leather micro-mini skirt, or a very wide white-leather belt. Those observing her would know if she was wearing underwear or not, if she bent over. A white-leather halter top bra barely contained a set of DD-cup breasts. Her sky-blue eyes held a wisdom that surpassed her seemingly twenty year old appearance. Her silver-blonde hair was braided in twin pony-tails on each side of her head. A golden crescent-moon stood brightly on her forehead.

"Where did those bitches go?" Sailor Mars exclaimed, noticing the absence of the three High School Seniors.

The young woman replied, "Oh, them? They went back to their assignment. It's their first outing as official Devil-hunters, after getting certified this morning."

"First outing?" Sailor Mercury inquired.

"Yes," the young woman remarked. "Oh, they have been training in the Martial Arts for close to ten years or so. Only recently did they join the Devil-hunting training here. They graduated just this morning."

"Where is here?" Sailor Pluto asked in curiosity.

"Where are my manners?" the young woman asked of herself. "My name is Selena. As for where we are, we're on the fields of Hosuseri Castle. As Lord Ranma-dono explains it, we're somewhere to the left of the Earth Plane, right of the Heaven Plane, above Nowhere, and below Everwhere."

"Hosuseri Castle?" Sailor Pluto asked again, unsure she heard correctly.

"Yes, Hosuseri Castle," Selena replied. "It was originally built by Takagi-no-Kami for his descendents, in the Yamoto Era. Ranma-no-Kami saved it before it was destroyed several centuries ago and brought it here.

"There are three levels of Devil-hunting taught here. Level One is for those with little to no experience. It's recommended to train here for three hours a day, minimum, and you'll be assigned a mentor, such as myself, to help you with your training. Level Two is a bit more advance. That required a minimum of seven hours a day of training, and taking several courses offered by those in Level Three. Level Three members are those that have dedicated themselves to Ranma-no-Kami. They train constantly, and serve as instructors for those in the lower levels.

"Those in Level One meets out here, outside the Castle, while those in Level Two meets within the Castle walls. Level Three members meet within the Castle itself. You can usually identify which Level a Devil-hunter is by how much clothing she's wearing. Level Three Devil-hunters are completely nude, while Level Two member will wear a single layer of clothing.

"I should point out that there are others here besides Devil-hunters of both sexes. For the record, you need not worry about the male Devil-hunters, as they train in the Forest of East. We're on the Plains of the Castle. Those others I just mentioned are vassals of Lord Ranma-dono, most of whom are female, but not all.

"Most here can be grouped into three categories: magic-girl, martial artist, or priestess. The Priestesses are the easier to explain as they are the ones that have dedicated their lives to Ranma-no-Kami, and draw on his powers, either to boost existing powers or receive power from their Kami. Martial Artists are those that gain their abilities through intense training and, for the most part, come from within. The rest are magic-girls, be they goddesses, demonesses, sorceresses, witches, vampiresses, or faeires. A word of cautious, the other two groups don't like us, magic-girls."

"Why not?" Sailor Moon whined. She did not like the idea that anyone did not like her.

"I don't know about you," Selena explained. "But, I got my powers from Ih, the Sacred Firebird, the Messenger of the Gods, and went out to fight her enemies with only a few spells available to me. Fortunately, Ih's enemies weren't that bright, or organized. As my enemies' powers grew, so did mine."

"So?" Sailor Venus inquired impatiently. After all, Artemis had just awakened her powers that she was reincarnated with.

Selena smiled sadly as she knew the Sailor Senshi did not understand. But then it took a minor vampire lord and a thousand years as his pet to learn this lesson herself. She tried to explain, "What it boils down to is this: I was just given my power. I didn't care where it truly came from, nor its affects on anything but the damage it dealt to my enemies. Nor did I do any research into my power. Then there is the common Magic-Girl attitude..."

"Attitude? What attitude?" Sailor Mars demanded. She was not in a good mood.

Selena smirked at Sailor Mars, and answered, "I was the Chosen of Ih and the Gods.

"In defeating the Dark Legion, I thought myself invincible. I quickly became arrogant and conceited. I saw myself as the Savior of the Worlds of Men. So much so that I could not even conceive of the idea that anyone else could... but me. Once the Dark Legion was gone, I set my sights on other Evils."

"What happened?" Sailors Moon, Venus and Saturn asked in wonder.

"I thought slaying evil vampires would be a cinch after defeating the Dark Legion," Selena explained. "What I didn't know was that even a newly made vampire was easily ten times more powerful then the most powerful of the Dark Legion. Fortunately, I got very lucky on my first outing and dusted a newbie vampire.

"Unfortunately, this brought me to the attention of the local Vampires, whom before hadn't taken any notice of me. As I wasn't a threat to them, nor worth their notice... until then."

"Then what happened?" Sailor Mercury asked curiously, although a bit distracted. She was getting some interesting readings from her Mercury Computer on Selena. Not only was Selena's magic seemingly Silver Millennium in nature, but of the House of Serenity as well. There was also an unknown energy within Selena that her computer could not identify. She quietly passed her finding on to Pluto and Jupiter, who passed them on to the others.

Selena smiled sadly, and remarked, "One of the minor Vampire Lords entered my resting chamber, and turned me in my sleep, making me his pet."

Sailors Venus and Mars snorted in disbelief. //No mere vampire would get me in bed,// both thought.

"I was his play-thing," Selena said softly. "Existing only to please my Sire. My Sire used me as a puppet to take control of the other magic-girls, tricking them into following me. Somehow, this gave me the power to absorb their powers, adding them to my own. Using the others' powers that I stole, and I created the Ginzuishou, both to control those I had enslaved, and to enslave yet others.

"Interestingly, those I had enslaved grew in power as I did. After enslaving the eight strongest magic-girls of the time, my Sire made me declare myself Queen of Magic. He created a palace for himself on the Moon, although, our subjects thought it was for me. My Sire selected four of the most loyal of our magic-girl slaves and named them for the four Inner Worlds: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, to serve as bed-warmers and assassins. He selected four of the most powerful to server as Magical Knights and named them after the four Outer Worlds: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn. Collectively, those slaves were called the Sailor Senshi. My Sire liked to joke and call me Queen Serenity the First."

The Sailor Senshi gasped in astonishment. Mars's face showed that she did not believe that she was hearing, but her shock kept her silent.

Selena snorted at the memory, "A queen of slaves is still but a slave... But yes, I was his first slave....

"How did you get free?" Sailor Moon asked in a choked voice. Even she did not like the implicatation of the story she was just told, she still was interested.

Selena smiled and answered, "My Sire's Mistress, who was the then Vampire Queen, wished to make a pet out of Lord Ranma-dono. Foolish, I know, but vampires, especially old vampires, can become just as arrogant and conceited as a magic-girl. Anyhow, Lord Ranma-dono simply wiped out her and her Court. To those like myself, he offered mercy or to become a Day-Walker. You can guess which I chose."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the ten magic-girls. The Sailor Senshi did not wish to believe that their origins were what Selena had just said, but they could not find anything to counter with.

When Sailor Mars could not stand it any more, she demanded, "What happened to Ih?"

Selena smirked, "Her? Oh, after I was turned, I found that Ih hadn't so much as chosen me for her sacred mission, as stumbled upon me. And her mission was simply to vex her mate and his followers... So in my rage and sense of betrayal, I killed her."

The Sailor Senshi were a bit uncomfortable with Selena with that pronouncement.

Selena mentioned as an after-thought, "I should mentioned there are three people of note here. Lord Ranma-dono, himself. If you haven't met him yet, there will be no mistaking him. You'll know it's him, when you meet him.

"Lady Ranko-sama is her name, but most call her the Red-headed bitch. I'm sure you'll come up with some special name for her as well. She's a cross between a Drill Sergeant from Hell and a perverted lesbian. What her relationship with Lord Ranma-dono is unknown. Some have suggested twin sister, demon-lover, or even daughter. Regardless, it's best for all around, that you just do as she says. You'll find that she will push you beyond any limit you thought you had.

"Lady Nabiki-sama is Ranma No Kami's first wife. It is said that it's Lady Nabiki-sama that is looking for more wives for her husband."

Selena noticed that Sailors Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus perted up at hearing that. She continued, "She believes that Lord Ranma-dono is more then any one (or more) women can handle, so looking for help. Like Lady Ranko-sama, it's hard to describe her. Lady Nabiki-sama is a cross between a nympho and a pimp. If you're not interested in joining Lord Ranma-dono's harem, you need to be careful around her."

"Wife?" Sailor Uranus remarked surprised. Stallion Watch did not mention anything about Ranma-sama being married.

"First wife," Sailor Mercury corrected.

"Are there any other wives?" Sailor Jupiter inquired a little too interested.

Selena grinned at Sailor Jupiter and replied, "Not yet. Although, many in the Level Three Group are gunning for membership into Lord Ranma-dono's harem."

"Harem?" Sailor Mars quoted with a hint of disgust in her voice.

"It's a mark of high social standing," Sailor Pluto remarked with a shrug. "And wealth, power and prestige."

Selena just nodded then continued, "I should also point out that while you can be injured here, everything including death will be healed with the dawn."

"Death... healed?" Sailor Moon inquired in curiosity. It was a concept she had not thought of before.

"Kind of," Selena admitted. "Just before the very moment before you would expire, all your injuries will be healed. It will hurt so much you wish you could die, but you won't.

"Also, as this isn't the Earth Realm, you can cut loose on any major powers you have. Stuff that would wipe out all living things on Earth, would have only a minor effect here. Besides, everyone would be healed come the dawn anyway." Selena was looking at Sailor Saturn, while she said the last part in a gentle way.

"So lets get you all outfitted, and begin your training," Selena concluded.

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