Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Gaijin ❯ Chapter 11

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

Gaijin

Part 11

Hunted!

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

Usagi Tsukino was lying in the
hospital, tubes protruding from her
throat forced oxygen down her throat.
The mechanical rise and fall of her
chest sent chills down Ami Mizuno's
spine as she watched her friend lie
there helpless.

"Damn him," she muttered as she
watched Usagi. The girl's condition was
growing better, but it had been three
days now. Usagi hadn't woken up yet.

Ami closed her eyes as she thought
about that moment again. The boy was
acting even weirder than before. He had
actually tried to help Usagi after he
slit her throat wide open. She couldn't
figure it out. It was as if he was
afraid of something, something more than
the girl dying. She couldn't put her
finger on it, but it sounded right.

She turned when a hand fell on her
shoulder gently. It was soft enough that
she didn't jump. "How is she?"

"She's getting better," said Ami as
she turned her head to look at Mamoru.
The boy's face was etched with worry as
he frowned down at he girl for a long
moment. "The doctor thinks she'll pull
through."

"Thanks to you," said Mamoru.

"I'm not the only one who tried to
save her," muttered Ami under her
breath.

"I'm sure the others did everything
they could to help," said the boy gently
as he smiled at her weakly.

Ami said nothing, but frowned a
little at the thought. "Who is he? What
does he want? Why did he do that? Why
did he try so hard to...." She clenched
her jaw in frustration. "It doesn't make
any sense!"

"Pardon?" asked Mamoru in confusion
as he looked away from Usagi.

"It's nothing," muttered Ami. "He's
too dangerous. I hate to say it, but
killing him is our only choice." The
thought wasn't very comforting.

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

"Any luck?" said Makoto as she
watched Rei concentrate in front of the
fire. She was sitting in the middle of
the shrine with sweat on her brow.

Rei growled angrily. "Nothing. All I
can get are confusing images of a man in
black, and a sword. It's not telling me
where this boy is."

"Do you think...maybe that man is
him?" asked Makoto as she scowled at the
girl.

"He won't live to be that old," said
Rei coolly. "Besides, this man, he
feels...like a friend...or maybe a
lov..." Rei cut herself off and shook
her head. "I think that perhaps this
boy's destiny lies with him. He may be
the one who defeats him in the end."

"I want him," said Makoto firmly.

"I just want him gone. I don't care
who does it," replied Rei coldly.

"What about this guy? Future
boyfriend?" asked Makoto as she smirked
at the girl.

"It could be," nodded Rei. "He could
be the one any one of us..." She snorted
at this and glared at Makoto. "It
doesn't matter." Her mind was suddenly
filled with another vision. This time
the figure was intimidating and strong.
He had a cold scowl on his face and eyes
that burned with the flames of hell
itself. "He's dangerous as well. I'm
getting conflicting images of him. He
could be a friend, or an enemy."

"Or a lover?" said Makoto as she
smirked at the girl.

"It is a possibility. As I said, it
could just as easily be you." Rei gazed
at her coolly and Makoto blushed. "In
any case, that isn't what we should be
discussing."

Makoto nodded. "What now?"

"I'm not sure, this image is very
powerful, and blocks my mind whenever I
try to find him. It looks like we'll
have to find him another way."

Makoto nodded and stood up. "We
should start looking then."

Rei frowned as the memory of the boy
falling off the edge of the roof came
into her mind. Her blast hitting along
with the stars from the ninja girl. She
hadn't seen how he'd made it onto that
bus in the end, but it seemed absolutely
impossible. He was dangerous, and very
skilled. She knew that speaking about
killing him, and doing it were two
entirely different things.

"Damn him."

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

"What's wrong with him?" asked Gia
as she looked at Mei Lin and frowned.
The pair was in the doctor's apartment,
sitting across from each other with
frowns on their faces.

The girl shook her head and sighed.
"I'm not sure, he's been sitting there
for two days now. He hasn't moved."

"I can't talk to him, he just grunts
and looks away. Spike can't even get
through to him; they always got along
well. I'm worried."

"He doesn't seem all that depressed.
I've asked him about it, and he says
'I've got thinking to do.'" Mei Lin
frowned and shook her head.

"This is annoying, but what can we
do?" grumbled Gia as she sighed.

"He's been eating all right, he
seems healthy. He's just been brooding
for a couple of days. It looks like he's
genuinely thinking about something to
me," replied Mei Lin.

"Well, I hope it doesn't last too
much longer." Gia frowned again. She
hadn't even been able to force him to do
anything. He just sat there, ignoring
her threats with a strangely
contemplative looking frown on his face.
In the end, she had given up and left
him alone.

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

Carrot was sitting in the corner of
his room. He was looking at the wall
opposite him with a thoughtful frown on
his face. "What the hell am I going to
do?" It was a whisper almost when he
spoke.

Clenching his eyes shut, the image
of Usagi's face as she hit the ground
filled his mind. "She's out of it. This
is the worst possible time for this?
What the hell am I gonna do now? Those
damn girls...they don't stand a chance
without her!" He clenched his fist and
growled in anger. "Beryl." He was no
fool; he knew what his chances were of
taking her on. He also knew that there
was no ignoring the problem without
Sailor Moon around to beat her. Sooner
or later, he would have to face it
regardless.

He frowned again, and looked at the
slip of paper in his hand. It was an
address, a room number to hospital where
Usagi was being kept. He'd made a few
calls when no one was around, asking all
the area hospitals about her, claiming
to be her little brother. It had worked
rather well, and within a half an hour
he had the address, room number, and a
list of people who had been to see her
within the last few days.

His smirk turned somewhat cold.
Beryl was going to win; there was little
doubt of that now. "I've got you, you
little meatball head. You're at my
mercy, as are your friends." His smile
widened again. He knew from experience
that sneaking into a place like that
would be child's play for him. "One
quick strike, and I would be Beryl's
most trusted minion. Heh. Those tactical
morons Zocite and Kunzite...I'd be the
best, and probably the most powerful of
them within a week. It would be...so
easy."

Usagi's pleading eyes flashed in his
mind again, asking him why. Images of
the Youma that had attempted to
assassinate him surfaced as well. Mei
Lin and her weak powers was the next
memory. Rather than pull at his
conscience these images strengthened his
resolve. "Heh. It would be so easy. I'd
have something even those crazy ninja
would be helpless against. I'd wipe them
all out." His evil looking grin widened
as he clenched his fist in front of his
face.

"I've thought about this enough.
It's time to go," he said as he stood up
and started towards the door.

"Carrot?" asked Mei Lin as she
stumbled back in the hallway. She was
surprised to see him up and about.

"You want to fight evil do you?" he
snorted in disgust.

"I...um..." she blinked at him and
stepped back in confusion.

"I'll see you later, I've got
something to do. I'll be gone a while,
so don't wait for me." He started
walking and left her standing in the
hallway dumbly.

"Wait! I..."

"You'll see me again in a short
time," he replied as he walked out the
door of the building and into the
street.

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

"Can I help you?" asked the small
man who looked at Carrot nervously. He
was standing behind a counter that was
protected by a wire mesh. It had a small
opening for passing goods and money
through.

"I need something from you," said
Carrot calmly as he leaned against the
grimy counter. The room was tiny, and
had a small rusted out staircase that
went up to a second level with boxes and
boxes of various items.

The tiny man frowned at him and
snorted indignantly. "You're not
authorized to buy from me. I'm afraid I
need something from your boss telling me
why you need..."

"Shut up. This is an easy order for
ya," said Carrot as he chucked a large
wad of bills on the counter.

The man looked at the cash. "I guess
I got a small 9mm I can let you use..."
he muttered greedily.

"I want something else from you.
I've got no real use for a weapon like
that," said Carrot after a moment of
thought. He considered it briefly, but
decided the risk was just a little too
much for his liking.

This caught the tiny man's interest.
"What do you need?"

"It's not really illegal, but asking
for it elsewhere is bound to get
questions asked," replied the boy with a
small shrug.

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

An hour later, Carrot sat in a small
empty shed on a rooftop somewhere. The
sky was cloudy outside, and there was
little doubt a storm was coming. He
smirked as he worked on the black cloth
in his lap and sewed. He wasn't sure
where he'd gotten the idea from, but it
would definitely be a little fun to play
with. He eyed the sky outside as he
worked and chuckled. "I wonder how long
it will take to find them?"

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

Several hours later...

Mei Lin frowned, he wasn't home yet.
His words were confusing when he'd left.
She wondered if he was planning on
coming back at all. Still, she didn't
think he'd leave her all alone here. It
sounded like he was coming back to her.
He could be so irritating at times. He
seemed to take a special joy out of
giving confusing answers.

"Maybe she's right. Maybe he is a
jerk?" muttered Mei Lin as she looked
over to the wall that separated Gia's
home from theirs. "I wish he would take
advantage of me though. I'm getting
tired of waiting for it." She shook her
head. Maybe she was playing too
innocent? If she acted a little more
forward, he might catch on? It was
something to think about later, as it
was; she was going to have a pretty
boring night.

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

Sailor Mars glared at the thing in
front of her with a rage in her eyes.
"Mars Fire Soul!" she screamed as she
blasted it with her flame attack.

The thing jumped nimbly aside. It
looked like a giant monkey, wit purple
hair and a circlet on its forehead. In
it's hand was a staff and it wore a
loincloth to hid its crotch from view.

Jupiter was feeling rather sick at
the sight of it. The loincloth was doing
a rather poor job of it, and every time
the thing jumped, they got a rather
unobstructed view. "Damn! This thing is
fast!" she said painfully as she
clutched at her side.

Venus and Mercury were hanging back,
taking pot shots at the creature
whenever possible. It was outmaneuvering
them quite easily though. It cackled at
them and spoke.

"Foolish humans! I'll destroy you
all! You'll give your power to the
omnipotent! Soon, we will rule..."

"Ya know, you guys should really get
some new dialogue," replied a voice in
English.

Everyone in the room turned to face
the voice, only to see nothing.

"Hearing that crap gets old after a
while," continued the strange voice from
the shadows.

"Show yourself!" cried Venus in
Japanese.

"Who's there?" asked Ami in her
native tongue as well.

"Heh." A dark figure waved at them
from above. He was hanging upside down
just over the girl's heads with his legs
tucked up to his chest. He was dangling
from a thin line that ran to the
ceiling. "Sorry. I don't speak Japanese
very well." He responded in English
calmly.

"What the?" snarled the Monkey thing
in Japanese. "What is this thing?"

"Who are you to talk?" snorted the
shadowy figure as he dropped from his
line onto the ground.

Minako was the first to react. It
was typical of course, her eyes went
wide, and she got an odd looking grin on
her face. "Wow! What a babe!" she
muttered in English.

The man who had jumped into the room
was dressed in a tight fitting black
bodysuit. His face was covered in a full
mask, with two large plastic eyes with a
mirrored surface. On his chest was a
strange symbol that went all the way
around to his back in the same manner.
It was a giant white spider that took up
more than half of the space on his torso
up.

He pointed at the monkey thing with
a smile that everyone could see through
the mask. "Just your friendly
neighborhood Spiderman."

"Spiderman?" muttered Makoto in
confusion. "That's kinda gross. What
kind of superhero names himself..."

"Die!" snarled the monkey as it
jumped into action again. It charged
forward, towards the newcomer first.

Spiderman jumped straight up and
over the thing, shooting a line of some
kind out of his wrist and swung across
the ceiling. He flipped through the air
and landed on a stack of boxes in a
crouching position. "Too slow!"

"Oh," said Makoto dumbly.

The girls weren't quite sure what to
do, the figure bounced around the room
skillfully, avoiding the monkey easily
as he dodged and swung through it's
defenses and proceeded to beat the
living hell out of it with only minimal
effort.

The monkey screeched as the thing
swung unto his face feet first.
Spiderman performed a back flip and
landed in a crouching position in front
of it, waiting for the next move.

The youma staggered back clutching
its face in agony as it righted itself
again and stared at the puny thing in
front of it in a mad rage. "I'll swallow
your soul!"

Spiderman tensed his body and
readied himself. "Come get some."

The beastly Youma roared and rushed
forward, the smaller human jumped
straight up and over the thing kicking
his feet into its back and sending it
sprawling across the ground. "Don't just
stand there! Kill it!" he cried to the
girls who were merely standing around
the scene dumbly.

Rei reacted first. "Mars Fire Soul!"
her attack slammed into the hairy
monster, burning it to a crisp within a
few seconds.

With the danger finally subdued, the
four girls turned to face the newcomer.

"Who are you?" asked Minako in
English.

The man seemed tense, he backed away
from them as if he didn't want them too
close and seemed somewhat distrusting of
them. "I told you, I'm just your
Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman." He
jumped up onto the top of some boxes and
seemed to fade into the shadows. "I'll
be seeing you kids around. Later."

"Wait!" cried Makoto as she rushed
up to the pile of boxes. "Damn."

"We didn't even get his number!"
cried Minako.

"He looked...just like my old
sempai!" muttered Makoto with a sort of
haunted look about her.

"He was wearing a mask!" snapped
Rei. "I don't trust him." She glared up
at the roof and scowled.

"What do you mean? He was a total
babe!" cried Minako.

Ami was blushing; the costume the
boy was wearing didn't leave much to the
imagination. Fortunately, he appeared to
be wearing a cup. There was something
off about his chest as well. It took her
a moment of thought to realize he was
wearing some sort of body armor over his
chest and back. She had to admit that he
had a rather tight rear as well. Rei
seemed to be staring at her and she
blushed a bit more. "Sorry."

"Calling us kids. He didn't sound
much older than we do."

"Well, I think he can understand us,
but he says he doesn't speak Japanese
very well," said Makoto

"Right," agreed Venus casually as
she watched the area where he had
vanished. "He seems friendly enough.
Although why he'd pick something as
creepy as 'Spiderman' is beyond me."

"He appears to base his fighting
style off of spiders. Maybe some kind of
ninja?" replied Ami as she looked
thoughtful for a moment. "His clothes
had some sort of padding in the chest as
well."

"You mean, that body was fake?" said
Makoto in disgust.

Ami shook her head. "I doubt it.
It's more likely it was some sort of
armor. He was too strong and fast for
those muscles to be fake."

Rei nodded her agreement on that
statement. "She's right. He's dangerous,
we shouldn't trust him."

"That's what you said about Mamoru
too," snorted Minako. "Maybe he's
destined to be one of our boyfriends?"

Rei gasped and looked up at the
ceiling for a moment. "It can't be..."

"What is it?" asked Ami suddenly.

"It's nothing. I can't be sure just
yet," she responded calmly. "Even if
it's true, we're not sure if he's an
enemy or not! I don't even know if he's
the man I've been seeing in that
vision," she thought to herself in
frustration.

"In any case, we won't find that boy
tonight. It will just have to wait. It's
getting late anyway," said Ami.

The others agreed, if somewhat
reluctantly. The group dispersed and
left the empty warehouse behind.

In the shadows above them, Spiderman
smirked to himself as he pulled off his
mask. A long scar ran down his face and
his eye was closed shut on the right
side. His messy brown hair now stuck up
in every direction after removing the
mask.

Carrot smiled as he leaned against
the boxes and thought about what he was
doing.

"This is stupid. The disguise works,
and I can fake a limited knowledge of
Japanese to keep them off my tail for a
while at least." He hated playing super
hero, but Usagi's problem gave him no
choice, he'd have to pick up some of her
slack until she returned. Then he could
go back to normal again. He'd had a bit
of trouble getting his hands on the body
armor, even after bribing the idiot at
the yakuza's weapons storage.

He also had to be careful about
using his powers for now. The Senshi
wouldn't take long to figure out who he
was if he started lobbing iron poles
around, and if they saw him throwing
lines around as Carrot, they'd probably
put two and two together as well.

The disguise might be good for
fooling Kei and her friends once or
twice as well, but beyond that he was
doubtful. Add that to the fact that he
now had a secret identity to keep up at
home as well, and that just made things
even more complicated.

Add to that the fact that he'd just
pretty much picked his side against the
Youma and Metallia, making him an even
bigger target than when he was still
neutral. His life was going to hell in a
hand basket, and this time he was diving
into the mess headfirst. "It's all my
damn fault anyway." He growled angrily
and hung his head in defeat. Being
Spiderman wasn't so bad, his powers
seemed to be similar anyway, so he just
figured 'why the hell not?'

He melted back into the shadows and
put on his mask again It was time to go
home anyway.

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

Usagi Tsukino opened her eyes,
everything was a blur. Images faded in
and out of her sight and a blurry figure
could be seen looming over her. "Where?"
she tried to say out loud, but no sound
came.

"Usagi? How are you feeling?" said a
sweet and familiar voice.

"Ami?" she mouthed.

"That's right, don't try to
talk...you're fine now."

The blonde girl nodded and said
nothing; she relaxed her neck and
allowed her head to fall into the
pillow. It was soft and it relieved some
of the pressure on her throat. The pain
there subsided somewhat and she flinched
slightly.

"You must feel terrible," muttered
Ami. "You've been here for a week now.
You started waking up yesterday, but you
probably don't remember. You were never
up for very long."

Usagi nodded slowly. The room she
was in was large and spacious; she was
alone and had a window that looked out
over the city.

"The scar on your neck won't ever go
away, not without surgery," said Ami as
she noticed the girl reach up to her
throat idly. She seemed sad for some
reason.

Usagi nodded again, she felt
incredibly weak. She noticed the IV in
her arm and frowned slightly. It looked
rather unpleasant despite being hidden
by the bandages.

"You can't have any solid foods for
a while Usagi. I'm sorry to say it, I
know how much you like eating."

This statement irked the girl
slightly and she scowled at her friend
for a moment.

"The good news is that in a week or
so, you'll be able to have all the ice
cream you want. So it's not so bad."

Usagi's face lit up at this
announcement. She smiled warmly in
anticipation.

Ami looked nervous, as if she was
skating around something. "I shouldn't
tell you...I...Oh Usagi!" The girl burst
into tears and gave her friend a gentle
hug.

Usagi hugged back, not able to do
any more than that. Words just wouldn't
come to her, and her throat was so sore.

"Usagi, I'm so sorry!" said Ami as
she pulled back. "I should go. I'll send
in your family. They're waiting on you,
and it would be selfish of me to take up
all your time."

The girl cocked her head and watched
her friend leave in confusion. She
wasn't quite sure what to say or do.
"I..." she mouthed the word again, her
throat too raw to do anything more.

Ami paused in the doorway. She
tensed up and turned to look at her
friend again. "Please stop that. I know
you don't know yet, but don't try to
talk."

Usagi blinked and looked at her for
a moment.

"Usagi, your vocal chords were cut
in half. You'll never talk again," said
the girl quietly as she left the room.

The blonde sat in bed working her
mouth open and closed. She simply stared
forward, not sure what to think about
that. Fear was the first reaction that
seemed to hit her, then uncertainty.

Her family walked into the room;
they were all quiet and smiled at her
warmly. Her little brother looked
nervous, and her father had a scowl on
his face. Before anyone could speak.
Mrs. Tsukino burst forward and started
to sob loudly. She grabbed her daughter
and tried to squeeze the life out of her
as best she could. "WAAAAAHHHHHHH!
Usagi!!! My baby girl!"

Usagi tried to tell her mother that
she was fine, and not to worry, and to
please let her go because she couldn't
breathe. However, nothing escaped her
lips besides soundless air. She furrowed
her brow as she struggled to breathe.
This could get annoying.

"Wow. This room is much nicer than
the one from before," commented her
little brother. Her father was trying
his best to pry Usagi's mother off their
daughter so she could breathe again.

Finally, the woman let go. "Usagi.
How did you do this? I knew you'd been
hanging around a new group of friends
lately, but... we can't accept something
like this!"

Usagi blinked in confusion. She
looked at her mother dumbly for a long
moment.

"The specialists! The room! We can't
afford all of this! You must tell us who
is paying for all of this! We have to
ask them to stop! It's not right, I
appreciate it, and you're not in danger
anymore. They've already done enough!"
Her mother grasped the girl by her
shoulders and smiled at her.

"Honey, she doesn't know what you're
talking about. She's been sleeping..."
said her father as he pulled her gently
aside.

"One of my friends is paying for all
of this?" thought Usagi in shock. She
had tears in her eyes as she looked up
at her mother. She had such wonderful
friends! She could never repay them for
this! There was just no way!

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

Carrot smirked as he flipped the
cellular phone in his hand closed. "That
didn't take too long. It's good that
she's awake now." The doctor had called
him with an update, and he'd thanked the
man politely before hanging up. They'd
never suspect his hand in this, and he
didn't really care if they did or not.
All he wanted was a quick recovery, so
he could stop playing hero faster.
Naturally, he'd paid for the best
doctors he could find. It didn't take as
much money as he'd thought it would.

The sooner Usagi Tsukino was on her
feet, the sooner his life could get back
to normal.

Carrot sighed and hung his head.
"Somehow, I seriously doubt that will
happen, a guy can hope can't he though?"
He looked up at the sky and shook his
head. "Man, this really sucks!"

He jumped off the edge of the roof,
sending a line of wire out onto another
building. The line went taught as he
swung across the skyline of Tokyo with
an odd looking smirk hidden beneath his
mask. The wind blew against his body,
giving him a slight chill through the
thick fabric that made up his costume.
His body armor lessened the sensation
somewhat though, he was quite
comfortable despite the chill in the air
that night. It was an oddly free feeling
to move the way he was. He pulled back
the line and sent out another,
performing an acrobatic flip in mid air
as he did so.

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

Kei frowned as she looked on from
the street, her eyes locked on the
mysterious figure that sailed overhead.
"What the hell is that?" she muttered
under her breath as she watched it flip
through the air for a moment before it
vanished. She stepped out of the shadows
she had been hiding in and tried to
catch another glimpse of it.

"Something disturbs you?" asked a
silky tone from her side.

Kei turned her head towards the
shadows and then looked up at the moon
again. "I saw something...strange." She
thought about it for a moment and turned
it over in her mind a few times. "Seems
our friend has a new wardrobe. He just
passed over us." The technique was
unmistakable, it had to be him.

"Interesting," commented the tall
thin ninja that walked out to her side.
"I'm halfway tempted to go after him."
He smirked behind his mask. He was
dressed in a traditional looking ninja
uniform, loose fitting black clothes, a
cowl and facemask.

"If I had recognized the technique
he was using sooner, I'd have gone
myself. We'll never catch him now
though, he was moving too fast." Kei
growled at her lapse for a moment, but
quickly pushed it aside.

"I'll pass the information along,
why don't you go see if you can catch
him?" said the tall ninja in amusement
as he turned and melted back into the
shadows.

"Right," grumbled Kei irritably as
she jogged off into the streets.

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

Carrot smirked to himself as he
watched the scene unfold below him. He
had circled back and landed on the
rooftop above the pair the instant his
new sense started to react. It was
definitely a useful skill. He peered
over the edge and watched as the taller
of the pair seemed to slither through
the shadows in the opposite direction.

"Those two could be trouble. I
didn't figure this would work to fool
them." He sighed and shook his head as
he removed his mask for a moment and
wiped his forehead with his arm. "Still,
at least it'll get those crazy senshi
off my ass for a while."

"Well, hello there," said a familiar
voice from behind him.

Carrot whirled around with anger
clear on his face. Kunzite was standing
directly behind him, with a rather
superior looking smile of his own.
"You!"

"Yes, me," replied the man calmly as
he strolled across the rooftop towards
the boy fearlessly.

Carrot stepped towards the edge, his
body tensing slightly as he prepared to
run.

"Have you considered my offer?"
asked Kunzite as his smile widened a
little.

The boy snorted and gripped the mask
in his hand a little tighter. "I might
have, if I hadn't figured out you and
your friends have been trying to kill me
all along."

"My, aren't you the smart one?" said
Kunzite lazily as his smile fell a
little.

"Mind explaining that?" said Carrot
as he seemed to calm a little. The man
wasn't moving towards him anymore.

"It's not personal, and I can
promise you that if you join us, it will
stop," said Kunzite with a sudden
seriousness in his tone.

Carrot smirked. "You're afraid of
something."

"Pardon?" said the man with a
disgusted sounding snort.

"I'm not sure what it is, but
there's something that's got you
worried. I'll bet that's why you've been
trying to get me on your side.
Something's going on here, and I don't
like being in the dark."

"You're more foolish than I'd
thought," snorted Kunzite as he narrowed
his eyes at the boy.

"Maybe I am," replied Carrot as he
stepped onto the edge of the roof. "I'm
not interested in your deal. When you
lose this stupid war, I'm not going to
end up dying with you."

"Lose? My dear boy, we are winning,"
replied Kunzite coldly.

"You haven't gotten rid of one of
those Senshi, and two of your pals have
died. Looks bad from my point of view."
The boy jumped off the roof and swung
through the air away from the scene as
Kunzite merely growled and watched him
for a moment.

"So, you have chosen your path? So
be it boy," he said angrily as he turned
and vanished in a flash of dark power.

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

Carrot puffed as he glanced around
nervously as he landed on the roof of a
two-story building. He whirled around in
every direction, searching for pursuit
of some kind. No one had followed him
and he cursed under his breath. Running
away really sucked, not as much as
fighting and getting all beat up, but it
still made him feel like a complete
loser.

He sighed and started to relax, when
a scream broke the silence. The boy
blinked and looked around the area where
he was standing. The roof was empty, he
was alone, but the scream sounded
awfully close.

He peered over the edge of the roof
and almost groaned in frustration.
Naturally, there was a hold up going on
below him. He settled down with his
elbows resting on the edge of the roof
and watched.

A boy in a leather jacket was
holding a knife up to an older man and
woman. He relieved them of their
valuables and the woman screamed. She
received a slap for the noise and the
old man tensed. He held back though and
the punks taunted him.

Carrot sighed and rolled his eyes at
the scene fate was throwing at him.

The punk snorted and turned away,
running into an alley with his loot.
Carrot watched him run, and the old man
helped the woman up to her feet. They
were probably married or something. He
didn't particularly care.

The robbery was over and Carrot
smirked to himself. He turned to look up
at the sky and raised his fist at it,
shaking it angrily. "Ha! I didn't do
nothin! How do ya like them apples ya
jerk!?" He was quite proud of himself.

A soft crying floated up to him from
below and he jerked rigid. "Oh man. I
should probably go now...before..."

"That was my mother's necklace! Oh!
Mother, please forgive your foolish
daughter for this!" cried the old woman
as she simply fell to her knees and
cried in the middle of the street.

"Now darling, I'm sorry, but there
really isn't anything we can do. I just
hope I can manage to pawn enough to make
the rent this month! That was the last
of our money!" said the older man, in a
rather pathetic attempt to console her.

Carrot looked up at the sky and
growled. "You realize that I hate you."

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

He was a rough looking boy of about
seventeen. A thick leather jacket hung
from his shoulders as he lumbered
through the street with a group of boys
surrounding him. They were all as ugly
as he was, but in different ways. It was
obvious they were your stereotypical
delinquent boy gang. A few of them even
had a Band-Aid on their cheeks.

"Say Knife! Tell us about the look
the old woman got on her face when you
pulled it out!" said a skinny looking
punk with a shock of red hair that rose
into the sky.

"Sure thing, she looked like dis!"
chortled the boy as he did a rather poor
imitation of the woman's look. It was
obvious to everyone but him that they
were laughing at him, and not his joke.

"Wha'd ya get?" asked the scrawny
boy.

"A few thousand yen, and some
worthless jewelry," replied the boy with
a disinterested shrug. He tossed the
necklace over his shoulder carelessly,
not noticing the hand reach down from
above to catch it.

"I don't think robbing old ladies is
funny at all," said Spiderman as he hung
just behind them. He was upside down and
his eyes were level with the lead punks
gaze.

The group turned around and stared
at him for a moment.

"In fact, I think you should
probably apologize to her. It wasn't a
very nice thing to do at all."

"What the hell is that?" said the
skinny looking punk fearfully. The other
three generic punks pulled out various
weapons and circled around the hanging
boy warily.

"You know, I really don't feel like
this right now. How about you give all
that stuff back to me now instead of me
taking it from you? I could just bring
it back to them, and we'll forget all
about this!" His voice was hopeful, but
it was obvious that he seriously doubted
that the boys would do it.

"Uh. Okay," said the lead boy as he
stared at the rather intimidating figure
hanging in front of him. He pulled a wad
of cash, and a few trinkets from his
pocket and stuck them into the confused
Spiderman's palm.

"What? Boss?" said the skinny punk
in shock. The others looked surprised as
well.

"Oh. Thanks," said the black clad
figure as he climbed up his wire and
swung away.

"What were you thinking?" cried the
skinny punk in shock.

"I read too much manga ta tangle wit
a guy like dat!" replied the older boy
angrily. "Youse guys is stupid! Don't ya
know a superhero when ya see one?"

The others looked at each other and
shrugged.

"Sure was a nice guy. Even let us
give it back without no trouble," agreed
one of the dumber looking punks.

"Yeah. I thought so too," agreed the
leader with a small shrug. "Come on. I
know a place dat'll sell us some beers."

The group cheerfully wandered off to
terrorize the streets of another area.

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

The old man was lying on the ground,
clutching at his chest. The woman was
kneeling over him with her hands on his
chest and stared at Spiderman as he
looked at them dumbly.

"Git! Git away from my husband! I
won't let you take him away from me!"

"Huh? What the heck are you talking
about? I got your stuff back from those
punks for ya." He shoved the money and
jewelry into her chest and peered down
at the old man. "Is he all right?"

The old woman looked down with him
and screeched. "Ah! Honey! Are you all
right?"

The man simply stared at Spiderman
with his eyes wide. He was clutching at
his chest and gasping for breath.

"Do something!" cried the old woman.

"What? Do I look like a doctor to
you?" he said as he turned his head
towards her. "Sorry about that old guy."

"Don't scare me like that!" cried
the old man as he finally got his breath
back. "I ain't as young as I used to be!
I coulda died!"

"Right. Look, I'll just be going
now. You just be more careful next
time." He turned away.

"Me be careful? You almost gave me a
heart attack! Jumping out at strangers
in an outfit like that! What's wrong
with ya boy!"

Carrot was growing severely annoyed
by this mess. He'd had about all he
could take for one night, and he was
getting tired. He should have been home
hours ago. "Whatever." He replied with a
small wave as he jumped ten feet into
the air as if it was normal and sent out
a line to swing away.

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

A half-our later, he was swinging
towards home yet again. The novelty of
swinging around was wearing off, and he
was doing it mostly because it was
faster than walking. The sooner he made
it home, the less likely he was going to
run into more trouble.

His eyes went wide as a familiar
tingling sensation started on his chest.
It was growing more and more intense at
a rather alarming rate. He gasped and
released the wire he was swinging on,
performing a tight flip in mid air as he
did so. He spun around and landed on the
roof of a car that was parked beside one
of the apartments.

Of course, this left a rather nasty
dent in the metal, and cracked the
windshield. It also hurt quite a bit.

"YEOUCH!"

"Every time I see you, I'm more
impressed," said Kei as she walked
calmly down the middle of the empty
street and smirked at him. She arched
her eyebrow as he stood upright shakily
from his landing. "Nice outfit."

"Yeah, thanks," he muttered
painfully as he popped his back and
jumped down from his landing spot.

The girl pulled out her knife and
smiled at him. "Shall we start?"

"Can't we skip this for once?" he
muttered irritably.

"Sorry, this knife is cursed, it
must taste your blood to be appeased,"
she replied coldly.

"Literally, or figuratively?" he
asked her.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Then
again, there isn't much about me I
wouldn't tell you if you asked the right
way." She arched her back, winked, and
blew him a kiss at the same time.

"Yeah. I'd noticed that," he
responded sourly as he sighed.

"Come on lover boy, I wanna see if
you learned anything," she said as she
stepped into a combat stance.

"Well, I learned that that knife of
yours is really sharp," he replied
calmly as he crouched low and waited.

"Not so quick on the attack this
time?" she asked coolly.

"I'm not dumb enough to make the
same mistake twice," he replied as he
slowly backed away.

"Always thinking of escaping? You're
starting to make me think you don't like
me hon."

"I'm starting to think you're too
stupid to realize that I don't," he
replied.

Kei attacked, she jumped forward and
Carrot felt a tingling point on his
chest. He shifted to avoid the stab that
she lashed out with as she landed. His
reflexes weren't enough to stop her next
attack though. Rather than land, she
pushed herself into a handstand with the
momentum and pushed off the ground.

Carrot let out a muffled curse as
her thighs wrapped around his head and
he fell back onto the pavement with her
sitting on his face. She smirked as she
clenched the muscles in her legs just
tight enough to hold him there.

"Well, I could get to like this,"
she said playfully as she looked over
her shoulder at the top of his head. She
blinked and felt an unusual sensation.
"Ooh..." she said as her eyes drooped
slightly. A half-second later she jumped
straight up and screamed in pain. Her
hands went down to her crotch and she
cursed loudly as she glared at the boy
as he slowly stood up and shook his
head. His mask was now up over his nose
and he was wiping his mouth off with his
arm.

"Cleaner than I'd thought," he
muttered just loud enough so that she
could hear him.

Kei narrowed her eyes at him and
pulled her hand away from her crotch.
Her fingers were covered in blood and
she growled angrily. "Bastard."

"I'll bet you forgot that I knew you
keep knives in there," he responded with
a small chuckle.

"I'm impressed you managed to reach
them," she replied coolly.

"Ready to call it quits?" he asked
calmly. "You should do something about
that cut, there's a lot of dangerous
veins down there. You could bleed to
death if you're not careful."

Kei frowned at him and looked down
at her leg. There was a steady stream of
blood that now reached her ankle. She
considered attacking again and stumbled,
it hurt to walk. "I'll get you for
this."

"I know. I stopped caring about that
a while ago. Get lost before you pass
out," he said calmly as he backed away
from her and into the shadows of a
nearby alley.

"Jerk," grumbled Kei as she
staggered into the darkness as well. The
wound was going to be a bitch to patch
up. Almost casually she reached under
her uniform and pulled out a small
bloody throwing knife. She tossed it
aside in disgust and slumped down
against the wall while searching through
her robes for one of the bandages she
kept on her body to stop the bleeding.
She was already feeling light headed as
it was.

With a small frown, she took out a sai
and put the rolled up bandage on the end
of the handle. She closed her eyes as
she inserted it and pressed it up
against the wound inside her. It wasn't
very large or all that deep. Sitting as
she was now while stopping the blood
flow for a half-hour or so would
probably be enough really. She closed
her eyes and rolled her head back to
look up at the stars from between the
two buildings. She laughed humorlessly
and sighed, she wasn't going anywhere
for a while.

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

Carrot landed on the roof of his
home and almost kissed the gravel. He'd
never been so happy to see the place
before. Well, there were the other times
he'd almost gotten himself killed by one
person or another. Tonight was a little
different though. He'd made it home
without a single wound. Gia wouldn't be
able to spend the rest of the evening
tormenting him with her hellish creams
and ointments! He ripped the mask off
his head and laughed out loud.

Then he realized that he didn't have
a change of clothes on him.

"D'ou!"

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

Carrot frowned through his mask as
he hung outside his window and glared at
Mei Lin. The girl was changing her
clothes and was quite naked.

"Stupid girl! Now I've got to hang
out here till you're done!" he growled
as he climbed up the line to wait just
out of sight.

It was right about this time that he
realized what he had just been watching.
He blinked and smacked his forehead.
"What the hell am I thinking?" He
lowered himself down again and continued
to watch her change. He was a healthy
fourteen-year-old boy after all.

Mei Lin clipped on her bra and
pulled her panties up as she shifted
around through the closet for a moment,
looking at what she wanted to wear.

"Well, I guess I could wear this..."
she muttered as she looked at a pair of
jeans and a button up shirt. She frowned
and peered at it for a moment. "Hmmm. I
suppose it could work...they're a little
loose though..."

She tossed the pants aside and
looked at a very short pair of shorts
that she'd pulled off of a small pile on
the tiny clothes dresser that sat on her
side. Her clothes were folded neatly on
one side, while Carrot's were tossed
into his half rather messily. Most of
what was on the floor should have been
on a hanger anyway. She narrowed her
eyes at this and sighed. She'd just have
to clean it up later.

After several moments of debate, she
decided that it was too cold to wear
something like that. She had to show him
something though, it was frustrating the
way he seemed to ignore her.

Carrot, who, ironically enough, had
seen everything, was hanging outside the
window still. He was clinging to the
small wire that connected him to the
roof with both hands, and his arms were
starting to get tired. "Stupid woman!
Hurry it up will ya?" he growled
quietly.

Mei Lin's face brightened up as she
happened upon a pair of black spandex
pants. She pulled them on and smiled at
the result. She was about to put on the
shirt when she stopped and blinked
again. "Wait a minute...this isn't going
to work." She pulled on the edge of her
plain white bra. It was kind of bulky
and wasn't very sexy really. She sighed
and took it off before opening the small
dresser inside the closet that held the
remainder of her clothes.

She began to shift around through
the clothes and grew more and more
thoughtful.

Outside, Carrot's arms finally gave
out, and he landed face first on the
pavement. Luckily, it was only about a
five-foot drop. It still hurt though.
"Damn," he grumbled painfully. "Stupid
chick."

Mei Lin cried out in triumph as she
pulled out a lacy looking black bra and
held it out in front of her. "It's
perfect!"

Carrot had no idea why chicks had to
take so long to get dressed just to sit
around the house. It irked him as he
rolled onto his back and stared at the
stars. He finally stood up and glanced
around. His apartment was on the back
end of the building, so the only thing
he could see was the empty building
behind him. It was some sort of small
office building, and no one was there at
this time of night. He kicked off the
ground and stood up glancing around.

Mei Lin was finished dressing now
and was standing in front of the mirror
smiling at herself like an idiot. She
clapped her hands and looked far to
pleased with herself for his liking. He
wasn't sure what the hell was going
through her mind at the moment. That was
probably a good thing, because it most
likely would have scared the hell out of
him anyway. He stepped back and let her
settle down a little before he tapped on
the window.

It took about three times before the
girl seemed to figure out where the
sound was coming from. He sighed and
looked up at her as she opened the
window to look at him.

"Hey," he said calmly.

Mei Lin stared at him and blinked.

"What?" he snapped at her as she
cocked her head.

"EEEEEEKKK! An evil spirit of
darkness!"

Carrot was thrown off his feet as
she shoved her hand forward in a
contorted gesture. She said something in
Chinese and he felt like an invisible
wall of air slammed into his chest.
Fortunately, it was only strong enough
to knock him off his feet and surprise
him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"
he snapped angrily as he sat up.

"Oh no! My powers are still not
strong enough!" she muttered as she
stared at her hand in horror.

Carrot blinked and realized that he
still had his mask on. "Oops." He pulled
it off and stood up. "Stop that you
crazy chick!"

The girl blinked at him and stared
him down. She leaned forward and
narrowed her eyes at him. "Just how long
have you been out here?"

"Huh? I just got back," he lied.

"Oh," said the girl as she stood
upright and sighed. "Damn, wish he'd
been here a minute ago..." she thought
to herself irritably. "Anyway, come in.
Why the hell are you wearing that
thing?"

"Hey! You're the one who's all gung-
ho about fighting evil and all that
crap!" he muttered angrily as he climbed
into the window. "I forgot to bring a
change of clothes back with me."

"Oh. You've been fighting evil?" she
said as she kneeled down on the ground
and stared at him for a moment.

"Yeah, what of it?" he snorted
irritably.

"You didn't bring me?!" she snapped
as she suddenly grew angry with him.

"Of course not! What good would you
do me?" he responded as if she'd just
asked him if she'd grown a tail or not.

The girl frowned at him and her
cheeks flushed with anger.
"You...you...Fine! See if I care!" she
turned her head away and crossed her
arms over her chest.

"Whatever. I've been taking care of
some personal business today. Leave me
the hell alone, I'm tired."

"Why are you wearing that?" she said
as her interest overrode her anger.

"It's a secret identity. I wouldn't
have told you about it if I hadn't
forgotten my clothes. Don't go telling
Gia about this! This is between you and
me, got it?"

The girl nodded.

Carrot shuddered, if Gia found out
he was running around in black
tights...he'd never live it down! "What
the hell was I thinking?" he muttered to
himself.

Mei Lin turned away from him and
pulled her hair up into a loose bun on
top of her head. She thought she looked
pretty sexy that way. She smiled at him
and spread her arms. "What do you
think?" She had the button up shirt tied
into a knot in front of her belly,
exposing her bra and cleavage in plain
sight.

"Huh? About what?" he muttered
dumbly as he looked at her.

She put on her glasses and frowned
at him. "What? Are you blind?" she
snapped.

"Hey, I'm not the one wearing
glasses," he responded as he tried to
figure out what the hell she was on
about. "Aren't you cold in that shirt?"

Mei Lin sighed and hung her head. "I
give up. I'm going to sleep."

"Whatever, I've got to change," he
said as he frowned at her.

"So go change," she muttered as she
pulled out her futon.

"I can't change in the bathroom if
I'm keeping this a secret," he replied
calmly.

She looked up at him and sighed. "So
sleep in it. I'm too tired to wait on
you."

Carrot blinked and shrugged his
shoulders. "Whatever. Stay there then."
He started to strip right in front of
her and changed his clothes.

Mei Lin simply stared, for a moment
she thought she felt a tickle of blood
on her upper lip. When she tried to
touch it, the spot was dry though. After
he'd gotten dressed she continued to
stare at the wall.

"I thought you were tired?" he
grumbled as he set up his futon on the
other side of the room.

She blushed and squeaked as she lay
herself down on her futon. She purposely
turned away from him and blushed as she
simply continued to stare at the wall.

Carrot snorted as he glanced at her
for a moment and shook his head. "I'll
never understand girls at all." He
closed his eyes and went to sleep.

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

TBC...

Next Time: The Senshi's new friend!