InuYasha Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Crossover ❯ Of Outlaws and Senshi ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Eleven

Of Outlaws and Senshi

-----

Setsuna was disturbed by what she was seeing in the Time Gates. Until now, there had been many paths she could use to get to Crystal Tokyo. One by one she was seeing them evaporate and she didn't know what was causing it. At first she thought that it might have something to do with the dragons' game. The Time Gates always took time to recalibrate after the introduction of outside sources.

As per long standing agreement, Ryo had duly notified her of what was going on, even when additional random factors were added. The Time Gates had compensated for them easily enough. They were nothing but minor players and their contact with the Senshi would only serve to further the eventual creation of Crystal Tokyo. But something had gone wrong and it was while watching them that she had noticed.

What was supposed to happen was that the group would take a tour and see some newly created mecha. Intrigued, they would all wind up joining a new government-sponsored strike force defending Japan from evil forces. Through them, the Senshi would gain legal recognition and support. It was one step closer to being in a position to found Crystal Tokyo when the crisis point came.

That was not what happened. Now both teams were wanted criminals. True, their secret identities were preserved, but it was the Senshi identities that would rule the world of tomorrow. They had always been heroes, never criminals. How could this smear be overcome? Before she could even imagine using the Time Gates to correct it, she had to find the source.

"It is said that if you want to rule a city, open the gates and let in a lion. After the lion has the city in the thrall of fear, kill it and then order it's hide hung on the city gates. Then give another order and it too shall be obeyed." The amused voice came from behind her. "You have seen the lions, and are ready to kill them and then start giving orders. Unfortunately, I have my own lion, and my own orders."

Setsuna spun on her heal. "Wh… You? But that's not possible. You're violating the accords."

"I suppose now you'll tell me that the other Time Lords will stop me? I don't suppose they've been blindsided as easily as you?" The voice was mocking as well as amused.

The Senshi of Pluto attempted her Dead Scream attack and found it would not work. All of her abilities seemed to have been stripped away.

A second voice joined the first. "Silly woman. Have you forgotten how Earth managed to remain free from the Moon Kingdom all those ages ago? Our magic was as strong as yours. Perhaps even stronger."

"But those magics were all lost. I saw to it myself!" Setsuna was caught between outrage and fear.

Again the second voice spoke. It was as amused as the first. "In this world perhaps."

It all fell into place now. She didn't even need the Time Gates to know. They had played their hand well. They had made no changes and waited. Waited until the Time Gates had to recalibrate. Then they made their move and changed things again before they could cope with the changes. "I suppose you'll be killing me now then."

The first voice snorted. "So you can be reincarnated and bother us later? Forget it. We have something else planned for you."

The second voice continued. "Ever hear of the legend of King Arthur? Ever hear of the nymph Nimue? No matter either way, just be sure to give my regards to Merlin."

There was a breath of crisp, cold air and then Setsuna was whisked away from the world.

"What do we do about these?" The second voice was referring to the Time Gates.

"Nothing. Without her they have no purpose." The first voice was filled with confidence. Confidence borne of arrogance. "Come, we have other matters to attend to."

The Gates stood alone. Had anyone been there to see them, they would have seen them focus on a group of unlikely heroes.

-----

"But I don't want to be an outlaw!" It was the first thing anyone had been able to get out of the sobbing Usagi since the special news bulletin.

It showed four of the Senshi battling it out with the legally appointed deputies of the CyberTech security forces. To the orderly and law abiding citizens of Japan, it was an act akin to treason.

From within the armored hanger a voice could be heard. "WHAT THE *BEEP*! THEY KILLED THE PROFESSOR! YOU *BEEP*!" Then photos of the professor were flashed across the screen, followed by the grieving relatives demanding that justice be done against these magical freaks. Warrants were issued for Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter. All of the other Senshi were wanted for questioning.

"Look at the bright side." Nabiki tried her best to sound comforting. She was getting a headache listening to the girl whine. "At least they don't know your real identities."

"At least until a real detective starts comparing pictures of the Senshi with School year books." Gin wasn't in the best of moods and didn't see why anyone else should be either.

"Wah! I'm supposed to be princess of the Moon Kingdom, not a common criminal." The alleged princess returned to her fit of tears.

"Nabiki has a point," Daisetsu commented. "Somehow, no one ever seems to make the connection between your Senshi identities and your everyday ones. It may have something to do with your magic natures. In the meantime just be glad you can still hide in plain sight." The young man was pacing. He was pacing and thinking.

Minako looked sullen. "Easy for you to say. They don't even know you guys were there. All the security cameras were destroyed along with the recordings. Since your tour wasn't scheduled, there's no record of you guys being there." The girl was nearly as depressed as Usagi. Her Senshi identity was as real to her as her supposed `real' one.

"There's no point in everyone getting depressed or turning on each other. We're in this together and we'll get out of it together." Ryoga's voice was gentle yet firm.

"Cool! We're outlaw heroes!" Sei was sitting on the foot of the Tiny Tim.

Everybody stared at him for a moment, prompting him to continue. "Oh come on! We're like the X-Men, defending the world that hates and fears us."

"You know, it is kinda romantic. In a hopeless sort of a way." Makoto was eyeing Ryoga and wondering why he wasn't shyly flirting with her, as he was wont to do.

Kari laughed. "The only thing they need to fear from us is Sei dropping Tiny Tim's ass down on some of them!"

Sei stuck his tongue out at his young friend.

Tatewaki was admiring some of the artistically arranged tiles that made up murals throughout the abandoned subway station. It was a little known fact that he possessed an IQ of 151, thus proving that genius and insanity are rarely strangers. "We are not the outlaws. We are the victims of treachery and falsehood. Our cause is noble and our hearts true. We are the heroes in this drama and we will be the ones to overcome."

Everyone stared at the young kendoist, who was oblivious to their attention as he admired the artistry on the walls.

Was it really that simple? Was the world really black and white? They were the heroes doing what was right and the rest of the world was wrong. These thoughts or thoughts like them were on everyone's minds. Well all minds except for one.

"There's an abandoned bank above us. It's for sale." Ami looked at her laptop that was currently plugged into Ryoga's mecha. She looked up when she realized that she was suddenly the focus of everyone's attention. She blushed and cleared her throat a bit. "I was just thinking that this subway station would be a good place to hide your mecha and perform maintenance, but you'll need a way to come and go without being seen. And lets face it, trudging through the sewers isn't all that appealing."

A few nods of agreement followed her statement.

Ami continued. "So I started checking the web to see what local buildings were for sale. This bank looks perfect."

Nabiki trotted over to the blue-haired girl's side. Something was stirring in her analytical and calculating mind.

"So what do we do now?" Usagi was finally coming out of her shock state.

Daisetsu was the one who replied. "We return to our lives until we can think of something better. The world isn't over nor will it stop for our troubles. We need to figure out what is going on and at the same time not show our own hand too early. So we continue with our lives and we keep our eyes open and we plan. It's not much, but it's all I can come up with at the moment." He was tired. He needed a chance to rest and regroup his thoughts. They all did. If he was right about his suspicions, then they were all in over their heads. The only advantage they had at the moment was that their enemies didn't know who they were.

There was a general consensus among the Senshi who returned to their normal states and headed for the normal world. That left the eight mecha pilots. And Bokkai.

"So what do I do?" Bokkai, like Usagi was just now recovering from his shock. "I've just learned that everything I've been working on has been an elaborate set up. Tech theft. For that the professor lost his life."

Daisetsu put an arm around his friend's shoulder. "I can't pretend to understand what you're going through right now, Bokkai. But I can promise you this. We'll get the bastards responsible for this. I don't know how, but we'll find a way. And then we'll make them pay."

"We can start collecting payback right now." Nabiki was wearing her cat in a canary store grin. "I think I may have come up with the solution to all our immediate problems."

Everyone gathered around to hear what she had to say. "It's like this, guys. Someone wants those mechs and will come after them. That means fight after fight. That means expensive repairs. Bokkai has the know-how, but he'll still need parts and materials. That takes money."

"So dip into your vast savings, you penny pinching tightwad." Gin was still bitter at having to live under conditions of poverty while the Tendos were nearly wallowing in hidden wealth.

The look Nabiki shot Gin could cut glass or wither flowers. It had certainly turned many peoples knees to jelly. Gin returned the gaze. "It might surprise you to learn that I planned to. Now shut up so I can finish." Nabiki cleared her throat. "We need to spend money to make money. Starting with buying that bank over our heads. Then we set up a business. Something that we can use as a cover for our `other' activities. Something that we might actually be able to do."

Kodachi was skeptical. "Are you suggesting that my brother and I lower ourselves to the position of common business people?"

Nabiki wasn't happy with the female Kuno. "No, I don't expect much from you really. I'll handle all the business aspects. You'll receive fair salaries minus living expenses, of course. All you have to do is accept the odd assignment." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "We may even be able to open a Nerima branch…"

"Branch of what?" Sei was fidgeting, waiting to hear what Nabiki's idea was.

"A detective agency. It will give us the ability to move about undetected and give us a way to keep our ears to the ground so to speak. Not to mention a legitimate source of income and a way to launder any less then legitimate earnings we come across." Nabiki was grinning widely.

"So now we are to become common criminals as well?" Gin couldn't manage the same level of moral outrage that Kodachi could.

Nabiki laughed. "Not as such no. But bad guys often have money and when we fight those bad guys we might as well liberate their ill-gotten funds as well. To keep it from being used for nefarious purposes you understand. Since it would be impossible for us to determine where these funds came from with our meager resources we might as well keep it and use it to foil more nefarious plots."

Daisetsu smiled. He loved his wife. She could sell a freezer to an Inuit in the dead of winter and get them to pay the shipping and handling fees.

-----

Detective Misato did not like the gaijin he had been assigned to work with. He'd been told that the gaijin was the head of security for CyberTech Industries and was here to assist in the investigation. Yet when Misato had tried to look into this man's past he had drawn a complete blank. Oh, there were files on him, held by a number of government agencies from a number of governments. It was just that none of those agencies had wanted to share what they knew.

Misato wasn't a detective because he liked mysteries. He was a detective because he liked finding answers. When confronted with a situation that wouldn't yield those answers, he became irritable. Thus he watched on impatiently as his charge poked and prodded through wreckage that had all ready been gone over by some of the best experts in the field. "I've already told you. An undetermined number of paranormal creatures gained entry to the facility. About twenty of them were slain by your own security forces and the remainder escaped into the subways and sewers. We haven't been able to track their movements past that point. We don't need you here to confirm what my government has already ascertained."

The gaijin had been crouched down to examine several holes in the armored floor of the hanger. His experienced eye told him that they had been put there by armor piercing .50 caliber rounds. The slugs had already been taken away. The entire scene had been completely sanitized. He stood to his full two-meter height and looked down at the angry Japanese detective. What he had to say wouldn't make the detective any happier. "I have not come here to confirm the findings of your government or anyone else. I have come here to find out what happened."

"You make it sound like we're engaged in some sort of cover-up." Misato was outraged by the insinuation.

His `partner' shrugged. "I think it's time we returned to the station. I want to review the recordings of the fight that happened outside."

A short while later the two were facing a trio of computer screens. The gaijin had no difficulty in playing and manipulating the images before him. He whispered to himself something in English.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." Misato knew the man could speak Japanese. It was just rude of him not to.

"I said they're just kids. Can't be one of them that's twenty yet." The mans voice wasn't incredulous as one might expect. Rather it was merely stating the obvious facts. Misato had yet to witness any real display of emotion from the man. "And there are only four of them. How is it they seem to handle the security forces and the police so easily?" He pointed at the screen. "That one must be mocking her foes, the way she manages to stumble or fall out of the way just in time. It's hard to believe she's even taking this seriously."

Misato shrugged. "They're magical girls."

"Magical girls?" Clearly the man wasn't familiar with the phenomenon.

"You know, teenage girls protecting the world from the forces of evil with the powers of love and whatnot. This group calls itself the Sailor Scouts, I believe. They've been known to fight demons in the past." There was a hint of superiority in Misato's voice. He enjoyed knowing things he thought of as common, but were a complete mystery to the other man.

Rubbing his temples, the gaijin spoke in a tired tone. "So let me get this straight. A band of demons show and raid the facility. A group of magical girls also then show up and the security forces engage? Why not just get out of the way and clean up the mess afterwards?"

The detective smiled. "I wasn't the on scene commander. Actually, it was your CyberTech security boys that engaged first."

"I wasn't the on scene commander either." There was a certain grimness to the way he said it that suggested he was going to have a very one way conversation with the man who was the on scene commander.

"I want to start comparing the pictures of these girls to those of girls going to school in the area. Ages seventeen to twenty." The man looked up at Misato expectantly.

"It would take forever to go through that many pictures," Misato scoffed.

"I have time," was the man's only reply.

Misato shrugged and arranged to have all the local yearbooks uploaded. Then he had yearbooks from all the outlying districts uploaded just to be sure. A dedicated man, the detective worked late and didn't head home until midnight. The gaijin elected to remain at the computer even later. He was still there when Misato returned the next day. What was more, he didn't look the least bit worn out.

The gaijin glanced up briefly when Misato arrived. "Take a look at these two pictures."

Misato examined the two images on the screen. On the right was a photo of one of the suspects, Sailor Moon. On the left was a yearbook picture of someone named Usagi. "Yeah, so?"

"Do you see any similarity between the two?" The man's voice was level.

"You mean other then the fact that they're both blondes?" Misato shook his head. "Nope, none at all." He was beginning to feel sorry for the gaijin. Clearly the lack of sleep was getting to him.

"Curious," was all he said before asking similar questions about other pairings. He had Sailor Mars paired with a girl named Rei, Sailor Venus with Minako, and Sailor Jupiter with Makoto. Not one of the pairings made sense to Misato.

Clearly they were all unique individuals. "What is the point of all this anyway?"

"Just testing a theory. Don't worry about it, I haven't found anything." The man stood. "If you'll excuse me, I'm tired. I think I'll retire to my hotel room, if you don't mind."

Misato didn't mind at all. He was glad to have the interloper out of his hair.

Damien Hunter didn't go anywhere near his hotel.

-----

Soon everybody started to put their heads together to work out the details. It was agreed that the first order of business was to secure their present location within the station. They located and either blocked or concealed all entrances to the station. Booby traps and primitive alarms were set up as early warning devices in case of intrusion. Daisetsu seemed to have wide range of knowledge in the area. This was supplemented by the way Gin naturally thought in underhanded ways.

Various offices in the station were selected as sleeping quarters and the bathrooms were located. An old restaurant was selected as a kitchen. Bokkai and Daisetsu set to work illegally tapping into the city's power grid, telephone lines, and hooking up the plumbing. Bokkai had the knowledge and Daisetsu possessed the practical skills.

Grudgingly, Nabiki agreed to set up a fund to purchase the furniture and building supplies required to make the station livable. She also agreed to spring for the tool sets that Bokkai required. It was almost physically painful for her to watch as her life savings started to evaporate. There was one financial snag, however. Neither Daisetsu nor she was yet at the age of majority. They would need an adult to sign off on some of the paperwork, mostly in regards to buying the bank and owning the business. Both agreed that her father was the best candidate, though it would mean a trip back to Nerima.

That raised the question of what to do with their guests. Nabiki had discovered Gin's snooping in her and Daisetsu's financial files. She really couldn't trust the girl. And Daisetsu still seemed unwilling to trust Kari. No one in their right minds would trust the Kunos. Sei seemed okay, but what did they really know about any of them?

There was, of course, only one answer. Take them all with them. It was probably inevitable in any case. Might as well do it under controlled conditions. Well, at least as controlled as possible.

In the meantime Nabiki looked over the floor plans of the bank. She could take the manager's office. The vault could have a hole put in the bottom and used as an entry point into the station. The pilots were all insisting that a fireman's pole be installed. Some other method would have to be devised to get back up to the bank though. Bokkai was reasonably sure he could rig some sort of concealed entrance into the roof of the bank and was working on some preliminary sketches.

That left a name for the group. Nabiki smiled as the perfect one occurred to her.

Others were less receptive to the idea.

"Y.E.N.? You have to be joking." Ryouga was incredulous to say the least.

"Sure. Young Enforcers of Nihon. It fits perfectly." Nabiki wasn't to be dissuaded.

"Lets put it to a vote." Kari decided that diplomacy would be the best option.

Tatewaki, Kodachi, Nabiki, Gin, Daisetsu, and Bokkai all voted for Y.E.N.

Kari, Sei, and Ryoga all voted for anything else. Anything at all.

Nabiki smiled. Now all that was left was a trip home to Nerima. How bad could it be?

-----

In a secret cave on Daisetsu Mountain, two children returned home to tell their parents what they had learned.

Reiko began. "The archer shows potential. He thinks fast on his feet and almost hit me once." She fluffed her ponytail idly. "It did provide me with a way to withdraw from the fight. Good thing he doesn't realize that my father is a volcano dragon, or my little illusion would have been ineffective."

Keiko lounged on an outcropping of rock. "Despite her diminutive size, the ninja is quite skilled. She has a great deal of potential. Her main assets are speed and skill. She's not developed enough for much strength or toughness."

"The third is cause for some concern." Reiko was frowning slightly.

"No shit," agreed Keiko. "He knows magic."

"It's not that he knows magic," countered Reiko. "It's that he has more magical power then he knows how to control. He's a wild card. A truly chaotic element."

"At any rate," Keiko was glaring slightly at her twin, "all three have more power than your original avatar. Even with the gifts you've given him."

Ryo was patient with his daughters. "You underestimate the boy."

Rei was equally calm. "He simply hasn't been properly motivated as yet." The adult dragons exchanged looks, before she went on. "But that will change in the fullness of time."

Ryo went over to the pool. "We are satisfied that they will make for interesting sport."

Rei joined her husband by the pool. "But there is something that is cause for true concern."

The pool turned silver and then an image appeared on its still surface. The image was that of an office. Inside the office were two youths, talking to a chair behind a desk. The chair occasionally moved.

"What's going on here? Are they talking to someone who is invisible?" Keiko was peaking around her father.

"The pool would reveal the figure if they were merely invisible. No, this person simply can't be seen. Nothing we've tried has worked." Ryo wore a face of concern.

"We have another mission for you two," Rei said seriously.

The twins exchanged looks. It wasn't like their parents to be so serious or worried.

Together, they made their reply. "We will do as you bid."

-----

Ryo Sakegachi and Nanashi Machiho walked into the office as though they owned the place. They were young and cocky, but not without good reason. They considered themselves the best martial artists of their generation, and had yet to be proven wrong. Thus, they hadn't been shocked to receive a summons to the CyberTech corporate building in Tokyo, security division. They had both seen the fiasco with the magical girls on TV and it made sense to them that the company would be wanting to hire some `trouble shooters' to take care of the problem.

What they hadn't expected was to be made to wait for nearly two hours before seeing the very man who had summoned them. While cooling their heels, the man's secretary had told them only that he was busy. So they were just a little annoyed when the secretary was finally told to send them in.

"You better have a good reason for making us wait so long," Ryo said harshly. He was dressed in his usual long-sleeved blue shirt and black pants. A black bandana was also wrapped around his head.

Nanashi didn't say anything as he quietly looked around the office. It was spartan, like it was never used. He was dressed in a white coat that obscured his face and contrasted with his long black hair.

Their employer stood to his full two-meter height. He was dressed in a black suit that had probably been made just for him in Italy. He didn't reveal any emotion on his face. "I was busy."

"Busy with what?" demanded Ryo.

The man walked casually to the window. "Let's get a couple of things straight before we start. I do not answer to you. You answer to me. The moment you stop answering to me, then I will stop paying you. If you can't handle that, then quit wasting my time. I assure you, it's more valuable then yours is."

The boys exchanged looks. They were used to working together, but not to taking orders. Still, they had come this far, it only made sense to see what for. "Okay, then why did you ask us here?" Ryo managed to keep his tone respectful.

"First things first." The man turned around. "My name is Damien Hunter and I am the head of CyberTech security. Not just for Japan, but for all our operations worldwide. I have come here to find out what went wrong with our security and how our property came to be stolen. There are matters within the company I must investigate. They do not concern you. What does concern you, is that while I am pursuing these other matters, the mecha thieves must also be found. I have heard that you two represent the finest that Japan has to offer. Therefore I want to hire you on a freelance basis to track down these pilots, capture them, and return our mecha to us. You will receive a standard freelance fee of six thousand American dollars per week each. Any expenses will come out of that fee."

"We want expenses included." Ryo was impressed with the figure offered, but wanted to find out how much this cow could be milked for.

"Good day gentlemen, our business in concluded." The man walked over to his desk and started typing something into his computer.

The boys exchanged looks. Ryo was a tad confused. "Are we hired?"

Damien looked up. "Are you two still here? How can you be hired when you did not accept my terms?" The only sign of emotion he showed was a slightly raised eyebrow.

Again the boys exchanged looks. "Very well." Ryo was seriously starting to dislike this guy. "We'll accept your offer."

"Good. I suggest you get started." Again Damien returned to his work at his computer.