Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Gaijin ❯ Chapter 9

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Gaijin

Part 9

The Unwanted

+++++++++++

Carrot sighed as he lay back across his futon and stared at the ceiling. He'd
gotten off work for the evening and was now enjoying a relaxing moment. It was
raining outside, and the sun had not yet set, it would in an hour or two though.

It had been two days since his last encounter with any trouble, and things would
probably continue along those lines for another week or so if his luck held
true.

He rolled onto his side and considered turning on the television. He wasn't in
the mood he found and couldn't quite figure out why. After several moments he
sat up and looked around, his stomach growling as he finally figured out what
his problem was.

"I'm hungry." Shuffling about for a time he rummaged through several discarded
plastic bags and came up empty. He was out of food.

"Shit," he muttered irritably as he stood up and looked out the window.
"Figures, it would be raining when something like this happens..." with a
slightly resigned sigh he stood up and headed for the door.

+++++++++++++

The store he used was no more than a few blocks away from his home, and he
didn't own an umbrella. He'd spent enough time in the elements that he didn't
particularly feel the need for one.

It was little more than a corner grocer, but it fit his needs nicely. He only
used the place at times like this, not wanting to frequent any one place enough
times to have anyone place him as living in the neighborhood. He knew it was
probably pointless with as much as he ran around these days because of his job.

When he walked out it was still raining, a rather nasty storm really. Thunder
rumbled as he started moving back towards his home with a candy bar in his mouth
and a small plastic bag of food under his arm. His stroll was almost lazy as he
moved back towards his home. "Well, at least it's quiet."

"So, I've found you at last," said a chillingly familiar voice.

Carrot froze and slowly turned around. "Son of a..."

"Hello again handsome," said Kei as she stepped out of the alleyway with a knife
in her hands. Her stance was relaxed and she leveled her eyes at him.

"What the hell do you want?" snapped Carrot as he shifted into a defensive
stance and growled under his breath.

"Same thing I wanted last time," she replied calmly as she smirked at him.

"Well, I'd oblige, but this isn't as private as that little room was," replied
Carrot as he jerked his eyes around looking for an easy escape.

"Oh, that? I wouldn't mind it, but I was talking about killing you," she
responded.

"I'd probably get hurt with all that stuff you like to wear anyway," he said
with a shrug.

"Enough talking loverboy!" cried the girl as she charged with her knife slashing
at him.

Carrot jumped back and snagged another of the mysterious poles off the wall,
slashing up with it before he even hit the ground.

Kei grunted as she was forced to dodge, slashing defensively with her knife. The
tip of Carrot's pole was hacked off in a clean cut, leaving it with a slight
point on the end.

The boy snorted as he stared at it for a moment and frowned. "Boy, that is a
nice knife."

"You mentioned that before," she responded as she moved slightly to the side
while waiting for an opening to appear.

"Where did you get it?" he asked her calmly.

"It doesn't matter, I'm going to cut you in half with it," she responded coolly.

"Oh," he said with a small shrug. "Look lady, I don't really feel like it right
now. Can we do this later? I kinda gotta eat." He held up his bag to her and she
blinked.

"You...dare take me so lightly?!"

"Oh man," grumbled Carrot as he realized he'd pissed her off pretty royally.

The girl charged him again, slashing with her knife. He backed away, moving his
pole to deflect the strikes as best he could. She hacked through the metal
easily, but barely missed him as he was forced back into a wall. She jumped back
suddenly as he came in contact with the bricks and readied herself for another
charge.

Carrot's hair felt like it was standing straight up, and his eyes were wide.
"Man, that was close..." he muttered under his breath as he stared at her. He
glanced down at his hand and blinked. His pole was nothing more than an iron bar
inside his fist. It was poking out each side of his hand by about a
half-centimeter. "Oh shit." He felt himself grow pale as he turned to look at
the girl again.

"I have you!" she screamed in triumph as she charged forward again. Her knife
held at the ready at her side.

Carrot jumped forward and punched her dead in the face with what was left of the
pole still inside his fist. There was a resounding crack that echoed through the
alley and the girl was sent flying back away from him in the air.

Kei was sprawled out across the pavement on her back, with blood seeping through
her lips. Slowly she sat up and shook her head. "Oooh, that hurt..." She turned
her head and spit out a mouthful of blood as she staggered to her feet. To her
surprise, Carrot was still standing there, looking at her dumbly. She fumbled
for a moment and reached down to pick up her knife again. The boy was staring at
her with his fists held ready. His frightened features were now gone.

"So, all that was an act," she grumbled to herself as she narrowed her eyes at
him. "He's been playing with me."

Carrot's train of thought was a bit different. "Oh god! I thought I was gonna
die! Damn that was close! What the hell do I do now?"

Kei was slowly regaining her senses and she steadied herself on her feet. Carrot
seemed to realize that she wasn't quite recovered yet and moved. Kei's jaw
exploded in pain as he landed a hook across her jaw. She felt the bone strain
under the pressure of the blow, but it didn't break. She was thrown into a wall
and hit the bricks head first. It was enough to knock her senseless, but not
out. She struggled to her knees and slowly turned to look up at the boy. He
looked somewhat uncertain, but she didn't have enough sense to realize that.
Without thinking about it, she reached into her top and threw several throwing
stars at him as she rolled onto her back.

Carrot saw her hand move into her shirt and knew what she was doing immediately.
Unfortunately, his last blow had thrown him too far away to do anything about
it. Almost on instinct, he jumped straight up into the air and flicked his
wrist. One of the metal lines shot out and embedded itself into the roof of one
of the nearby buildings. He twisted before he landed and managed to hit the wall
with his feet as if he was repelling down the side. "Damn, I almost forgot about
this."

Kei was getting better again, and she watched him for a moment with a frown on
his face. "This explains how he was able to beat Kasumi so easily." She pulled
several more throwing stars out of her top and tossed them at him as best she
could. Her aim wasn't at its peak at the moment, and her head felt like it was
about to explode in pain.

The boy was dodging her strikes easily, by running along the side of the wall.
Finally he ran out of line and momentum as he started to actually run up the
wall in a straight line. "Got ya!" she thought to herself as she carefully aimed
at where he would back swing.

Carrot surprised her again though. He twisted and shot out another line with his
other arm in the other side of the street. With an almost casual motion, he
removed the first line from the wall and pulled it back into his sleeve.

Kei's jaw dropped as he swung through the air in a sort of curving swing and
repeated the process again. "What the hell?" Her Uncle had once been thought to
be the supreme master of the techniques the boy was now using. Carrot was
proving her dead wrong. "There's no way...he's...coming right for me?" she
blinked when she realized his direction.

She reached into her shirt for more throwing weapons and came up empty as he
neared. She cursed and started to stumble backwards in a somewhat dim witted
attempt at escape. The last thing she remembered seeing that night, was the
bottom of his feet as they slammed into her face.

+++++++++++++++

Carrot sighed as he landed on the street lightly and retrieved his line. He'd
put a good distance between himself and Kei. "Man, that crazy bitch." He blinked
as he looked around. He was now twice as far away from his home as he was
before, and in the opposite direction. He groaned and hung his head. With a
small sigh he checked his bag and smiled to himself. "At least I've still got my
food."

He sighed and started walking again. It was still raining, he was starting to
get cold, and the whole situation sucked in general. He'd dealt with much worse
though, so it didn't bug him too much.

As he walked he noticed a figure huddled inside one of the doorways to an
apartment complex. Whoever it was, they were covered in a blanket and shivering
miserably. "Hey, You should find somewhere else to sit. The cops will get angry
if they find you there. Not to mention the tenants."

The person turned her head to look at him and blinked. "Huh?"

Carrot blinked. "Hey, I know you..."

"You are...that boy?" said the girl a little dumbly.

"What the hell? Oh crap," he muttered as he glanced around. He was almost home,
and the last thing he wanted was another stupid demon attack. It was the Chinese
devil hunter girl.

"Look, Mei Long or whatever, don't you have someone else to be bothering...I
mean saving right now?" He didn't sound happy to see her.

"My name is Mei-Lin, and this is proof that we are destined for something," she
said as she stood up and grinned at him.

"Why the hell are you still in Japan?" he grumbled.

"I must stay and fight the evil until this is over, it is my destiny.
Unfortunately, I ran out of money for the hotel room I was staying in."

"Tough luck, see ya," said the boy as he started walking again.

"Wait!" cried the girl as she stood up and grabbed his arm.

"What?" he muttered irritably.

"Our lines of destiny are crossed! Surely you must see that!" said the girl
firmly.

"Yeah? Well my line of destiny is a tangled mess, so blow," he said as he turned
his head away.

"I cannot leave you!" she said firmly. "You are still cursed!"

"I am not cursed, I'm plagued by idiots, now leave me alone," he said as he
pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"I cannot!" she snorted firmly as she gripped his arm a bit tighter.

"Look, Mao-Lin or whatever..."

"I am Mei-Lin! Mao-Lin is my sister!" snapped the girl as she was pulled along
the sidewalk. "You'll never get rid of me! I must perform my duty, and I can
sense that you are my connection to destiny!"

"I am not!" he snapped. "Go bother those senshi chicks and leave me the hell
alone!" grumbled Carrot.

"Ungrateful brute!"

"Oh for god's sake!" he cried as he tossed his arms into the air. "Can't you
just go back home?"

"Um...no," said the girl as she looked at him.

"Huh?" he replied as he turned his head to look at her. "You're stuck here?"

"Yes," she replied with a slightly uncertain frown.

"Well, that sucks. How about I get you home? Will you leave then?" he asked her
with a smile growing on his face.

"You'd do that? You'd really help me?"

"Yes, I promise I'll find a way so that you can get home!" said Carrot as he
thumped himself in the chest and looked up at the sky in an over dramatic pose.

"Oh! Thank you!" cried the girl as she gripped his waist.

"I'll just go buy a plane ticket tomorrow, and she'll be out of my hair
forever!" he thought to himself cheerfully. "I never thought solving a problem
here could be this easy!"

The girl was hugging him and crying tears of joy. "Oh! thank you! I knew I could
count on you!"

That statement hit Carrot as kind of odd and he shrugged. "I guess you can stay
at my place until we find a way to get you home."

This caught the girl by surprise. "A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, I live alone, it's no big deal. You can stay as long as it takes for us
to get you back home." Carrot shrugged again and started walking.

"Are you sure about that?" said the girl with a slightly surprised blink.

"Yeah, it's no trouble. I mean, how long could it take?" said Carrot as he
shrugged.

++++++++++++++

"Well, this is it," said Carrot as he tossed his food on the ground and waved
his arm.

"It's...actually nicer than I expected," she replied as she stared at the room.
It was almost barren, devoid of any decoration. He probably didn't have much of
an income though.

"Yeah, it's warm and dry, that's all I need," he said with a small shrug.
"There's a bathhouse across the street. I guess we can go see about getting you
home tomorrow."

This caught the girl by surprise and she looked at him. "Um, I think it's going
to take longer than that."

"Naw, I can get a ticket or something tomorrow I'm pretty sure," he said more to
himself than her.

"I mean, vanquishing the evil so that I can return will take some time I'm
certain," said Mei-Lin.

Carrot blinked and looked at her. "Huh?"

"I'm so glad you offered to help me. I can never return until my mission is
completed. I would have spent the rest of my life wandering in solitude if I had
failed! I'm glad you came along, or even if I had survived that monster..."

Carrot stared at her for a long moment. "Did you just say you can't go home,
until you 'destroy the evil'?" he asked with a slight strain in his voice.

"Yes, I must admit, I was not expecting you to be quite so understanding," said
the girl as she smiled at him cheerfully.

Carrot stood up and looked at her. "Excuse me." He walked right by her and into
the hall.

Mei-Lin blinked as he walked out the door and into the hallway. She sat there in
silence, smiling cheerfully to herself. That is until a loud scream rang out in
the hallway, followed by a long string of expletives, and a banging sound that
vibrated the walls in the room.

Carrot walked back into the room and dusted off his hair. A white powder and
bits of plaster clattered onto the floor as he strolled back in. He sighed and
stared at her for a long moment, unable to speak.

"Oh my," said the girl as she stared at him.

"It's nothing. You hungry?" he replied as he lifted up the plastic bag and
dumped it out. "I suppose we should eat."

"Yes, thank you," said the girl as she smiled at him.

He stared at her and growled under his breath. "I can't believe it! How could I
be so stupid!?" he thought angrily. "I gave my word too...damn it!! Why the hell
is this kinda crap always happening to me?" He shuffled over and pulled out a
small gas stove while keeping his thoughts to himself. He'd dug his own hole and
now he had to deal with it. "This is really going to suck."

"Pardon?" asked Mei-Lin.

"It's nothing," replied Carrot as he glanced over his shoulder at her. "Just
talking to myself..." He turned on the stove and sighed. "Life sucks."

"Oh," said the girl as she shrugged. She smiled to herself, her destiny was
going better than she'd thought. Fate was so wonderful. Maybe she'd even managed
to find her one true love? Surely their destinies might include that! Her sister
was going to be so jealous. Life was a wondrous and joyous thing.

++++++++++++++

Carrot frowned. "You can have the mattress. I'll get another one tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" she asked politely.

"Don't try to talk me out of it, or I'll let you," he responded as he tossed
some extra sheets on the floor.

The girl blinked at this and shrugged. "Very well."

"I gotta find a way to get rid of this stupid chick!" thought the boy to himself
as he set up his sheets and lay across them.

A loud moan echoed through the room and Mei-Lin sat up like a rod, staring at
the wall. "What the?"

"GIA! GIA! YOUSE IS SO GOOD!"

"Just the neighbors, you get used to it," said Carrot lazily.

The girl blushed badly and swallowed. "Neighbors?"

"Yeah, don't worry, they'll stop in a few hours," said Carrot. "If you're lucky,
you'll be asleep before they start again."

"Hours?" muttered Mei-Lin as her blush grew worse somehow.

"SPIKE! SPIKEEEE! SPIIIIIIIKKKKKKEEEEE!"

Mei-Lin could feel the floor vibrating slightly and stared at the wall as the
lone picture hanging there crashed to the floor. It was going to be a long
night.

++++++++++++++++

Gia woke up the next day and stood out in the hallway with a cup of coffee in
her hands. She looked somewhat worn and tired, but overall rather pleased with
herself. Spike was getting dressed in the room and it was almost time for him
and Carrot to go to work for the day.

She paused when she noticed the four large dents in the wall along the opposite
wall. "What in the?"

"Because I've got to go to work, that's why," said Carrot as he stepped out of
his room and sighed. "Look, you can't follow me around like this."

She blinked and turned her head, somewhat surprised that the boy was already
awake. "Good morning."

"Oh, hey Gia," said the boy as he turned to look at her for a moment.

"Who are you talking too?" she asked in confusion.

"Who is this?" asked Mei-Lin as she stepped out into the hallway. She was
wearing Carrot's dogi and blinked at the woman standing next to him in the hall.

"Her name is Mei-Lin, she's staying with me for a while," replied the boy
irritably. Then again, everything he said was irritable.

"Oh...Oh my," said Gia as she stared at the girl.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," said Mei-Lin as she bowed politely. "Who is
this?"

"Her name is Gia, she's my neighbor," replied Carrot.

The girl blinked at him and stared for a moment.

"Yes, the one that was making all that noise last night," said Carrot as he
sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Oh," said the girl as she blushed again and stared at the woman. "Hello."

Gia blushed as well and turned her head slightly. "Nice to meet you."

"Well, this is awkward enough. I'm going now," he said as he waved his hand and
started walking.

"Right, thanks for letting me borrow this," said the girl as she looked down at
her clothes.

"Um...if I might ask...why are you wearing that?" said Gia as she looked at the
girl.

"It was the only thing he had that would fit me. Everything else is too tight in
the chest," replied the girl as she looked up at her.

"Hey Gia. I thought I heard dat kid out here," said Spike as he emerged from the
room with a somewhat tired look on his face.

"Yes, you just missed him," said the woman as she pointed towards the door.

"Um, hi. You must be Spike," said Mei-Lin with a slightly surprised blink. He
was definitely not what she was expecting to see.

"Oh, Hi. Who da heck are youse?" replied the man a little dumbly.

"Um, this is Mei-Lin, she's staying with Carrot," said the woman as she looked
slightly uncomfortable with the idea.

"Hey, never knew the kid had it in em," said Spike cheerfully.

Mei-Lin frowned slightly at this, but said nothing to argue.

"I'll see ya later, I gots to go to work now," said the man as he lumbered down
the hallway leaving the two women alone.

"So...how do you know Carrot?"

The girl's face brightened up. "He's my destiny! He saved me from a dizzen of
the underworld! Now he's going to help me destroy the evil that plagues Japan!"

The woman stared at the girl for a moment and sighed. "Right. I should have
known."

"He's such a kind person," said Mei- Lin cheerfully as she nodded. "I am lucky
to have found such a brave soul to help me in my quest to save the world from
evil."

Gia sighed and shook her head. "Well, I've got to go to work myself. I'll...talk
with you later I suppose."

"Yes, it was nice to meet you," said the girl as she bowed and walked back into
Carrot's room again.

Gia rolled her eyes and turned into her own room. "What the hell is that jerk
thinking?"

++++++++++++++

Carrot sat there staring at the wall for a long time. He was currently sitting
in a bar with Spike at his side. "Man, this sucks."

Spike blinked and looked at his companion. They had just gotten off work for the
day and were enjoying a little down time and male bonding. The entire room
reeked of testosterone and tobacco smoke. "Sure kid. Youse got woman troubles?"

"Yeah, I can't think of a way to get rid of her," grumbled Carrot.

"She one of those obsessive types? One time and youse can't get rid of em?"

"Something like that," grumbled Carrot as he hit his head against the bar
lightly. "I sort of made a promise I can't back out of."

"Youse made da promise?" cried Spike in horrified awe. "Dang kid, youse is awful
young for dat."

"Not that promise, it's something else," grumbled the boy as he stared at him.
"I'm not -that- stupid." Carrot hit his head against the table in frustration.
"Oh, who am I kidding? I might as well have! Now I'm stuck with her for who
knows how long! I'm such an idiot!"

"It's not so bad," said Spike sympathetically.

"Yeah it is," grumbled Carrot as he downed the rest of his beer and sighed. "My
life sucks even more now!"

Spike sighed and pat the boy on his back. "Well, maybe youse should...I dunno."

"Yeah, I'll think of something," grumbled the boy irritably.

He jumped off his seat and paid for the drinks before walking towards the door.
"Later Spike."

"Yeah," said the man with a small shrug as he stayed there and mulled over it
for a moment.

"He's a little young for woman trouble," commented the bartender.

"Yup," agreed Spike. "He told me it was one o dem honor problem tings."

"A gaijin? Wonder how that happened?" said the bartender with a small pause. "Oh
well. People are weird these days."

++++++++++++

Carrot walked alone in a city of millions. His head was down and he had a scowl
on his face as he moved through the crowd and tried to think of a good way out
of this mess. He'd promised her he'd help her get home, and then offered his
home to her. Now she was there. "So now what?"

He looked up and blinked as a familiar figure walked a few feet in front of him.
The long dark hair and school uniform gave her away and he smirked to himself.
"Hey, Fireball."

Rei gasped and whirled around to stare at the boy watching her from behind.
"You...I...I um, don't know you."

"Sure you do," replied the boy calmly as his smirk became somewhat vicious. "I
never forget a good set of legs." He knew he shouldn't have spoken up, but he
was in a spiteful mood, and didn't care much about consequences at the moment.

Rei almost sputtered in shock and narrowed her eyes at him. "Who are you?"

"You know who I am, don't play stupid. I'm surprised to see you walking around
without your friends though," replied the boy as his smirk turned into a scowl.
"You know I don't like you around here."

"Tough!" she snapped as she whirled around.

"Whatever," he said with a shrug as he walked along beside her. "Going to meet
your friends at that Arcade again?"

Rei stopped and frowned at him. "What would you know about that?"

"Enough, I've been following you around lately. Seemed like a good idea to keep
tabs on you since you've all got it out on my ass for some reason." He smirked
at her and she paled slightly.

"That's impossible," growled Rei.

"Is it? Funny, I always thought you knew I was there," he replied calmly. "I
guess hiding in the shadows and sneaking around has it's merits. Kinda makes you
wonder what else I might know too don't it?" He smiled cheerfully as he said
this and appeared to be talking to himself rather than her.

"Why are you telling me this?" she said suddenly as she moved off towards a
quieter area nearby.

"Oh no you don't, I'm not about to let you get me alone somewhere. I've had
enough trouble with you crazy chicks to last me a while," he said as he remained
where he stood for a moment. "Besides, I wanted you to know I know who you are,
and I know where you all live." He hadn't really been following them, but it was
a good way to explain how he knew so much.

"What are you planning?" she asked angrily, there was also a bit of fear in her
voice.

"Nothing, you stop bothering me, and I won't tell your parents about your hobby.
Simple as that." He smirked as she shook in anger or fear, he couldn't tell
which it was. "All I've ever wanted is to be left alone, but you keep dragging
me into this mess. Now I've got demons, crazy gay men, and all sorts of trouble
raining down on my head. It's your fault that stupid jerk Kunzite keeps trying
to get me to join him. Now all of the dumbasses are after me."

"Kunzite?" ventured Rei.

"I don't have time to sit here and chat with you all day. Tell your friends
about this, and pass my message along. Stay out of my face." He started to walk
off and the girl moved in front of him.

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I have the knowledge to make Usagi, Rei, Makoto, Minako,
and your life a lot harder than it is now. What do you think the newspapers are
going to think of your real identities? Or the police? I wonder who would pay me
more to find out?" He smirked at her and brushed her aside. "Mamoru too, but I
think I'm content with just smacking him around a bit when he shows up to bother
me." He started whistling the theme to Sailor Moon to himself as he walked off.
He started singing to himself as he got a fair distance away from her. "Fighting
evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight...heh...never running from a real
fight! She is the one named Sailor Moon."

Rei simply stood there for a moment and watched him. Finally, she burst into
tears and rushed off towards the meeting place. Regardless of what they decided
to do, the others had to know about this.

++++++++++++

Carrot found himself feeling much better all of a sudden. He hummed cheerfully
to himself as he walked. His mood had brightened and he was almost skipping. It
had felt too good. Of course, he never considered the mess he might have
started.

Of course, things couldn't stay that way long.

It burst from a store cackling madly as the energy crystal in its grip glowed
with power. The thing looked human this time, a sort of monstrous thing with
dark clammy skin and claws. It was female and looked somewhat like a walking
cadaver.

"What the hell?" said Carrot as he stared at it. The thing was either incredibly
brave, or incredibly stupid. It started draining people on the street. "Power! I
feel so powerful!" cried the monster as it raised its hands over its head.

People started falling over in the street and Carrot frowned as he backed away.
He vaguely remembered that Youma were usually part of some sort of hair- brained
scheme thought up by Beryl or her Generals. They usually didn't transform until
they were discovered. His mind backed up a bit and he realized that the ones
he'd seen weren't like that. Most of them just sort of burst onto the scene and
started attacking things.

His brow furrowed slightly at the thought and he moved behind a corner to
observe for a moment. There was nothing particularly special about the shop it
had emerged from. It was a jewelry store. No bad play on Dark or crystals in the
name or anything. For the first time, he realized that that in itself was
somewhat odd.

"Something's odd about these Youma," he muttered under his breath. The first one
he'd seen had been the one Sailor Moon was fighting, after that...

"They're after me!" he said as he backed around the corner where it couldn't see
him. "Why?" He briefly considered that it might be part of the plan to get him
to join them. It could be that, but it didn't seem right. Someone was trying to
kill him, again.

He peeked around the corner again and noticed the Youma was standing there
glancing around in confusion. "There's more to this, I just know it."

He turned his head and considered running away for a moment. "Damn. I gotta
know." He stepped out into the street again and frowned. "Hey ugly!"

The youma turned its head slowly and smiled. "You! Give me your power!"

"Can it ugly, you're after me. Why?" he snapped as he grabbed an iron pole from
the wall.

The thing tried to think, but quickly gave up and roared in anger. "I'll destroy
you!"

Carrot jumped up and lashed out with the pole, striking the thing in the
shoulder. He felt the bone break, and then reset before the blow was even
finished. It slashed out at him with its claws and he rolled away. "Damn."

"Human! I'll destroy you!"

Carrot jumped to his feet and went over the thing's head, pushing the pole
behind him as he landed and into the thing's back. It was thrown forward,
landing on its face. The crystal clattered across the ground and he rushed by to
scoop it up into his hand. He peered at it for a moment and clenched his fist.
To his surprise, it shattered and crumbled to dust. Unfortunately, it cut up his
hand pretty badly in the process. "Augh! Damn it!" He clenched his wrist and
dropped his pole to the ground.

The monster took advantage of the situation and rushed forward, swinging at him
angrily. He dodged easily and a light pole was sent down into the street.

The sound of screeching tires filled the air as traffic was stopped suddenly.
Carrot blinked as he realized that it was the only car on the street that hadn't
stopped already, probably because it had just arrived.

"What the hell?" said the young man driving it in irritation.

Carrot ignored this and jumped to avoid another strike. "You're slow ugly," he
commented as he landed about twenty yards in front of the car. "Get the hell out
of here you idiot!"

The monster roared in frustration and raised its hands above its head. Slowly,
its body began to shift and grow.

"Oh man," muttered Carrot as he backed away from it a little more.

The man seemed to realize that something was wrong and quickly shifted gears. He
backed away, his tires screeching loudly as he drove off and spun around in a
rather skillful maneuver. The car stopped again as the driver had a bit of
trouble with the gears for a moment.

Carrot was having trouble of his own. The ten-foot tall monster leered at him
through a massive set of pointy teeth that stretched out if it's mouth. Its body
had grown larger, but it's skin appeared to stretch to accommodate it, almost to
the point of ripping off. "Oh hell."

It swung its massive claws at him and he couldn't move fast enough to dodge. The
blow was an underhanded swipe, and Carrot flew into the air. He came down rather
roughly and felt pain explode across his body. He landed in the back seat of the
car, which was a convertible fortunately.

The man driving turned to look at him just as he was about to shift into drive
after spinning the vehicle around. "What the?"

"Go! Go you idiot!" cried Carrot angrily.

The man took of his sunglasses and the tires squealed again.

Carrot leaned into the front seat from between the two chairs and rubbed his
neck gingerly. "Damn it. Why does stupid crap like this happen to me all the
time?!" He turned his head and looked into the rearview mirror, only to see the
thing's snapping jaws as it rushed after them in the street. He turned his head
and gasped as he realized, that despite the fast paced driving of the man, it
was still gaining. "Shit! Don't look back! Just drive! Drive as fast as you
can!"

The man nodded seriously and looked over his shoulder. "Hang on!"

Carrot was thrown into the side of the back seat as the man turned a corner so
fast it left huge black marks in the road. He stumbled back to his position and
growled in irritation. "Damn it! It's still gaining!" he cried as the driver
weaved around other cars in the road.

The thing behind them was tossing the vehicles aside as if they were toys,
growing ever closer as it moved in a straight line after them. "Son of a bitch!"
cried the man as he slammed on his brakes and turned the wheel.

Carrot looked forward and saw why, they were heading straight for a telephone
poke, and it didn't look like they were going to avoid it. He without even
thinking he jumped up, the momentum throwing him out of the car as it slammed
into the pole on the driver's side. He flicked his wrist and managed to catch
another pole nearby. He twisted and saw the creature still rushing towards the
vehicle as he spun around, all of it moving in a sort of slow motion as he
struggled against the force of his swing to hang on. In a split second he
realized what was about to happen and extended his feet.

The monster roared in pain and anger as he slammed into the side of its head
feet first and drove it into the side of a building. The brick wall shattered
and he passed through it with the monster's head. The body of the thing didn't
go with him. Finally, he let go and threw out another line, jerking himself
towards the street. He landed in a roll and sprawled out on the sidewalk gasping
for breath. "Damn." His legs hurt, and he would have quite a few bruises from
the encounter. Still, he had done better than he usually did as far as injuries
go.

After about a minute, he struggled to his feet and almost couldn't support his
own weight with his legs. It only lasted a split second, and he managed to start
limping towards the vehicle.

The driver was lying face first on the horn of the car, sending an irritating
blaring sound into the air. He reached out gently while leaning against the door
and slowly pushed the man back. He blinked as he stared at him for a moment and
realized something. The man had short blonde hair that was cropped up close
against the back of his neck, and he wasn't a he at all.

"Hey lady, you all right?"

"Ooh, my head," said the woman as she gently brought her hand up to her
forehead. She was only a little older than he was really. In an instant she
snapped out of her pain and her eyes went wide. "My car!"

"Yeah, tough luck," replied Carrot as he smirked at her. Then he realized that
she looked somewhat familiar. "Oh man. Not again."

"You! This is your fault!" cried the woman as she grabbed his throat and started
to choke him angrily. Carrot gagged under her grip and pulled at her wrists. He
managed to pry her arms off, but not without leaving distinct claw marks in his
neck. "Stop that!" he cried in anger.

"I'll kill you!" cried the woman hatefully as she tried to attack him again.

Carrot slugged her in the gut and sent her to her knees. "You crazy bitch! It's
not my fault!"

The woman glared at him as she struggled to her feet. "You wrecked my car!"

"No I didn't! You did!" snapped Carrot. "Your driving was more dangerous than
the stupid monster was!"

"I'll have you know I'm an excellent driver!"

"Stuff it! It ain't my fault that thing threw me into your car. It wasn't like I
was aiming for it lady!"

The woman growled at him and managed to prop herself up against the door again.
"You'll hear about this from my lawyer!"

"Gotta find me first! Later," said Carrot as he threw out one of his metal
lines. He tried to jump, but failed miserably. With a disgusted sigh, he
recalled the wire and staggered into an alley.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!?" snapped the woman hatefully as she
tried to follow him. He'd gotten a good shot in so she didn't get very far. By
the time she looked up, he was gone. Vanished into the shadows. "Damn."

Sirens started to sound in the distance and she looked around. It didn't take
but a moment's thought to realize that she was not in a good situation. The
monster had crumbled to dust, and a trail of wrecked cars led to the accident
that she had just had, along with quite a few rubber marks in the road. She
growled and climbed back into her car. The pole was demolished, but the vehicle
was still operational. "Bastard. I'll get him for this." She drove off to escape
quickly and moved into traffic a few streets down, vanishing from the scene as
well as Carrot had.

+++++++++++++

Carrot stood in the doorway to his home and sighed. "Stupid senshi," he grumbled
to himself as he staggered down the hallway. He froze when he saw not one, but
two females staring at him in the hall.

"Oh, you're back?" asked Gia as she smirked at his condition. This was starting
to become normal for her.

"What happened?" cried Mei-Lin in shock.

"Just another stupid monster," grumbled Carrot irritably as Gia grabbed his arm
and forced him into her room.

"Any cuts this time? Or burns?" she asked calmly as she tossed him onto the
floor rather carelessly.

"Do you treat all your patients like this?" he groused angrily.

"No, but you're a special case. Quit complaining," she said with a small smirk.

"I cut my hand, but I'm all right otherwise," he muttered.

"You're walking funny," she said as she noticed his limp as he stood up.

"Bad landing, I'll be fine," he muttered as he turned his head away.

"Sit down and shut up," said Gia as she pulled a familiar bottle out of her
medical bag and sighed.

"Damn it! That stuff stings!" cried Carrot angrily.

Mei-Lin simply stared from the doorway, unsure of what to say or do.

+++++++++++++++

"You seem to be getting along well with her," muttered Carrot as he walked into
his room with Mei-Lin at his side a few minutes later.

The girl was blushing, but mostly because of the rather colorful stream of
expletives he'd used while being treated. He wouldn't admit that he actually did
feel better now though. "She's...very nice."

Carrot noticed something in her hand and frowned. "What's that?"

"This? I'm not sure, but she said I should read it," replied the girl as she
held it out to him.

"Family Planning?" read Carrot as he narrowed his eyes at the little brochure.
He crumpled it up in his hand and considered going over to speak with the woman
about it, then decided it wasn't worth the trouble. "It's nothing to worry
about. She's just being paranoid."

"Oh," said the girl with a slightly uncomfortable frown. "If you say so."

Carrot looked around at his room and blinked. "Hey, what happened?"

"It was disgusting in here," said the girl as she frowned at him and crossed her
arms in front of her chest. He noticed that she was wearing a skirt and blouse
that she probably borrowed from Gia. "Oh. You noticed? She gave me some of her
old clothes." The girl looked entirely too happy about that, but Carrot didn't
notice. He was too busy staring at his room again.

"You...cleaned?"

"Yes," said the girl as she frowned at this.

"What for?" he said as he looked at her again.

"Because it was dirty! How can you live like that?" she replied sharply.

"I like my mess, I knew where everything was!" he said irritably.

"You only own about ten things," responded Mei-Lin with a smirk on her face.

Carrot looked around again and sighed. "Point taken."

The girl smiled to herself at this and he sat down on the floor. "I'm going to
sleep. Keep quiet for a while will ya?" he muttered as he sprawled out across
the floor and passed out.

Mei-Lin frowned at this, but didn't try to do anything about it. She sighed and
pulled a blanket out of the closet, putting it over him as he started to snore.
"He's a little rough, but I suppose I can work on that." She stepped back and
watched him for a moment and pulled the bedroll out of the closet so that she
could sleep as well. She paused and looked down at him for a moment before
pulling a pair of pajamas out of the small pile of clothing Gia had given her to
change. He was out cold, and wouldn't be watching her anyway. She wondered to
herself if that was a good thing or not.

++++++++++++

Usagi stared at Rei as the girl seethed in anger across from her at the small
table with the rest of her friends. "What?"

"I said, that boy knows who we are," replied Rei with a hateful hiss in her
tone.

"No way!" cried Makoto in shock.

"Are you sure?" asked Ami nervously as she stared at the tabletop in front of
her.

"Yes, he knows all of our names," replied Rei with a sudden calm overcoming her.
She was still angry, but had to repress it for a moment.

"How could he know?" said Minako as she clutched the sides of her head in
frustration.

"He followed us home, or so he claims," replied Rei.

"What are we going to do?" asked Usagi.

"We have to do something!" snapped Makoto as she slammed her fist onto the
table.

"So he knows who we are? So what?" grumbled Minako as she tried to push the
problem aside.

"He also claims to know where we live, and he threatened to tell our parents,
the newspapers, and the police who we were," said Rei as the surface of the
table cracked under her grip. She released it and hung her head. "What can we
do?"

"I don't know! My mom will kill me!" cried Usagi fearfully.

Luna was sitting on the tabletop listening in to the conversation. She had been
strangely silent up until this point, accept for a single gasp of surprise when
Rei had announced it. "We have to do something to stop him."

"Maybe we should just do what he says?" offered Usagi. The others all glared at
her for a minute.

Ami spoke up though. "She might be right, that could be the best course of
action. All he claimed he wanted was for us to not bother him."

"He could be working for the enemy!" pointed out Luna. "We can't ignore him. He
knows too much! It's dangerous!"

"We haven't seen any real evidence that he is with the enemy though," agreed
Artemis as he poked his head out from Minako's bag.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," growled Luna.

"I agree that he's dangerous, but Ami might be right. It might do just as well
to leave him alone like he wants. I hate to admit it, but he hasn't done
anything with the information he claims to have yet."

"That doesn't make him any less dangerous! He could pass the information along
to the enemy! If they have it, they won't hesitate to use your family and
friends against you! They could even surprise you while you're alone if they
know who you are! We have to do something about this!" cried Luna.

"She's right," said Rei coldly. "We can't just leave him be. This could endanger
everyone we care about."

Usagi didn't like the way this conversation was going. "I don't like him either,
but..."

"But what?" snapped Rei. "What if he gets your family killed!? Do you really
think that the enemy won't do that to get to you?"

The blonde shrank back under the words and hung her head. "It just...doesn't
seem right."

"Still, we can't ignore this," said Ami. "Rei is right this time. We have to do
something. Even if it doesn't feel completely right. He's too dangerous. I'm
sorry Usagi."

Makoto and Minako both remained silent as they looked towards Usagi. One at a
time, they slowly nodded once, signaling their agreement with the others.

With a heavy sigh, Usagi relented. "All right...but I..." She couldn't think of
a single thing to say after that.

"So, it's decided. This boy, whether he's related to the enemy we have now or
not, is our enemy as well," said Luna firmly.

Despite everything, that made Rei feel just a little bit better.

+++++++++++++

TBC...

Yes, that was Uranus. No she won't be appearing as a Senshi anytime soon. I just
thought it would be fun to have her make a cameo earlier than her appearance as
a Senshi.