First of all, sorry about the formatting of this story.  It shouldn't be
that bad though.  This was inspired by an idea put forth by Christopher
Angel  (hi, Chris!  Um, what I sent  you, well, that wasn't all of the
story.  Sorry.).  Anyway, comments would be greatly appreciated.  Thank
you.

PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
The Stranger Within (Draft)

     I watched as another taxi flew by me.  I finally lowered my hand,
after trying for a half an hour to hail one of the elusive machines.
Maybe I should get a bike?  Yea, right.  If I had enough money to get a
bike, I wouldn't be trying to get out of Tokyo in the first place.  This
place is too darned expensive to live in, especially for a ronin.  I
almost passed the exam, it's just with the sake and the...  well, you
know what I mean.  Anyway, twenty isn't too old to try again.  I just
need to study more.  For that, I need a quiet, and cheap, place to stay.
     After many days of hunting, I found it.  The perfect place.  A
shrine, what could be more peaceful?  Nestled in the heart of the Juuban
Province, this was a cinch way to nab a place for study.  
     Unfortunately, I am here in downtown Tokyo, during rush hour,
trying to get a cab.  Dejected, I head for the nearest rail station on
foot.  I was hoping not to have to walk the five miles, but oh well.
I'm in good shape, I can handle it.  What I can't stand are the million
people I have to swim through.  I press through the fleshy tsunami like
a sailor trying to reach a life preserver, only to have it pulled out of
his hands whenever he gets a grip.  
     Just as I feel like swinging at a nearby pedestrian, I make it.
Like the Gate to Heaven, disguised as the Gate to Hell, the entrance
stands before me.  Myself and a thousand others flood into the hectic
basin of commuters.  I deftly enter some yen into the token machine and
get the proffered discs.  Then, I pay my way onboard the train, and my
way to freedom.
     As the bullet rail heads out of town I look back at the monstrous
city.  I am seriously glad to be away from that.  On to less stressful
surroundings.
     Soon, the train arrives, and people pile from it.  I look around
the terminal with a much happier expression.  It's as though leaving
Tokyo proper has lifted something from my sore shoulders.  Something
that should have been removed long ago.  My gaze passes by a reflective
surface, and sees a most handsome devil staring back.  I am not by any
means narcissistic.  I don't verbally announce my features, I need not
do so anyway.  The positive reaction form women is plenty to quell any
doubts I may have had about my appearance.  My dark brown hair, which
shines with a magical sheen.  My powerful eyes which go from hazel to
blue as the month goes by, then vice versa, like clockwork.  They are an
especially intense blue during the full moon, for a reason I can't
fathom.  Bottomed off with a most honorable chin, I just can't be beat.
Okay, so I'm a little self involved, sue me.   
     I exit the station with a look of determination.  The sooner I get
to the temple, the sooner I can begin working.  I almost run down the
street, ignoring the odd looks coming from everyone I pass by.  It only
takes minutes to get to the temple.  It's a rather quaint little
building, assuredly rich with a wonderful history.
     I pace up the cobblestone walkway to the main door of the temple
proper.  Before I can knock, the door slides aside.  I find myself
almost eye to eye with the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.  Brown
eyes, surrounding by a most perfect face.  Topped off with a head of
luxuriously dark purple hair.  I find myself entirely speechless.  One
could hear the sound of our breathing at that moment.
     She broke the silence, fortunately.  I was beginning to feel
extremely awkward.  "Who are you?"  She asked.  I could tell by her
voice that she was already taken by my looks.  I also noticed by it, as
amazingly pretty it is, that she is also the woman I talked to over the
phone about staying here.  Oh no!  Please don't say I have to live with
this angel?!  I backed off and bowed.  "I'm Ohara Tsuki.  Pleased to
meet you.  I'm supposed to be staying here till next exam."
     I couldn't tell if it was fear or relief I saw cross her face.
"Oh!"  She exclaimed.  "We have been expecting you.  Come in."
     I thank her and follow her into the temple.  I take immediate note
of the ancient artifacts that adorn the place.  There's even an air of
serenity that I can't quite explain.  Sort of like coming home after
being away a long time.  I almost shiver as the feeling sends a chill up
my spine.  I reach forward and place a hand on the young woman's
shoulder.  
     She turns and looks at me curiously.  "Uh," I begin tactfully,
"who are you, if I may ask?"
     A smile lights her face, much to my pleasure.  "I am Hino Rei.  I'm
a Priestess in training here."   
     She turns from me as I see all hope of peaceful study flap away in
the breeze.  How will I get any peace with her under the same roof?  It
can't be done.  Can it?
     We arrive at a small room, very Spartan in appearance.  It only has
a futon, a desk in the corner, one lamp behind the desk, and a small
dresser in the opposing corner.  Looks absolutely perfect to me.  It's
all I should need.  Now, if only Rei wasn't here.  I find myself
strangely repulsed at the thought of her absence, but figure it to be
hormones.
	I quickly and quietly place my things in the dresser.  The plywood in its
construction belies it age.  While the temple may be old, the possessions
held within are not equally so.  Nor are the occupants for that matter.
	Oi!  Even now I can't stop thinking of her!  I look to the heavens and
silently ask 'Why?'.  Receiving no answer, as usual, I return to my
unpacking.  Other than clothes, I only have my study materials and some
gifts for the people here at the shrine.  I was not expecting such a lovely
young woman to be here though.  I bought stuff geared mostly to older
people.  I guess I'll have to go and find something more suited to her
later.
	Another place I will require is a library.  I shall need to study a number
of literary works to complete my study regiment.  I'm sure this'll be the
least of my worries.
	I finally finish unpacking, placing a handful of fresh #2's in a Styrofoam
cup on the desk.  I breathe a deep sigh of relief and look about my newest
home, to be so for the next few months.  Unfortunately, I think of 'her'
again, and it catches in my throat.
	I have a horrid feeling that the next few months are going to be really,
really long ones.
END PROLOGUE
START PART ONE
	Little did I realize the exact gravity of my situation.  It made itself
quite apparent with the arrival of Rei's friends.  All four of them
absolutely gorgeous young women.  I suddenly feel like getting a cold
shower just standing in the doorway watching them.  I also feel like
cursing the gods, but that seems a little wrong, me being in a temple and
all.  So, I just brood in the hall, trying not to drool.
	That's when one of them catches sight of me.  I am a little taken aback as
her big brown eyes come into contact with my bluish ones.  She's about as
tall as I am with brown hair done up in a pony tail.  She seems to stare
into my soul for a moment, then her gaze turns dreamy.  
	Uh oh, I know that look.  However, what comes out of her mouth is not what
usually accompanies it.
	"He looks like my old boyfriend."  She states with a yearning in her
voice.
	I do?  In all my twenty years I've never met anyone who looks like me. 
Well, I suppose I'm not all that well traveled either.  It still strikes me
as odd.
	Rei turns to me at the girl's outburst.  Her face brightens up, much to my
pleasure I might add.  "Tsuki!"  She exclaims, running over to me.  "I want
you to meet my friends."  She turns to everyone.  "Hey, this is Ohara
Tsuki.  He'll be staying in the temple for a few months to study for
Entrance Exams."
	"Lucky!"  The girl with the straight blond hair yells, much to my
embarrassment.
	Rei seems to be blushing a bit too.  "Anyway," she continues, "these are
my friends, Usagi-chan, Minako-chan, Ami-chan, and Makoto-chan."  She
points out everyone as she names them.  All the girls smile brightly as
their names are called.  
	I smile back, as if I couldn't help but do so anyway.  One of the girls,
Usagi, catches my attention.  She seems to glow a bit for some reason.  I
write it off as peculiar lighting.  However, I have a more difficult time
writing off the hair style.  What up with that?  I find my gaze drawn to
the odd balls on top of head whenever I look at her.  It's rather
disconcerting actually.
	Everyone sort of disintegrates into miscellaneous banter after the intros
are completed.  To my constant chagrin looks keep getting sent my way.  I
start to feel like some sort of nude sculpture that everyone glances at,
but doesn't have the guts to stare.  Yes, I am feeling a wee bit insecure.
	Fortunately, someone comes to my rescue.  My 'knight in armor' could
literally be so.  He's as tall as I am, with a similar build.  He has dark
brown hair and eyes.  According to Usagi, who greets him most
enthusiastically, his name is 'Mamo-chan'.  Somehow I think this is a pet
name.  He looks at me very suspiciously, as if I'm intruding on his
territory.
	"Who's that?"  He asks Usagi as if I'm not really there.
	She looks at me.  "Oh, that's Tsuki.  He is staying here at the temple to
study for college exams.  He's your age!"
	I smile at him.  He seems to settle down a bit at Usagi's proclamation. 
"Hello."  He says, bowing to me.  "I'm Chiba Mamoru."
	I bow back and tell him my name.  Once this is all done, he really
lightens up.  He instantly starts a fight between Usagi and Rei, though it
isn't all that apparent that he was the cause.  It seems to me that he's
had a lot of practice setting these two off.
	I decide to ask about the library at that point, since I can't begin my
study without a few choice books.  I look to Rei, but quickly squelch that
idea, as she is currently attempting to make Usagi think that she is fat
through verbal abuse.  I don't see how that could succeed.  So, I turn to
Ami.  Now there is your stereotypical 'smart' person.  If she turns out to
be stupid I'll eat my hat.  Even as I walk up to her she seems to be lost
in thought.  "Hello."  I say, trying to get her attention.
	She looks up at me as if just noticing that I exist.  "Oh, your Tsuki,
right?"  She brightens considerably at noticing it's me.  
	"Yea, why did you look so down?"  I ask, worried about her more than I
usually am about someone I don't really know.
	"Well, it's nothing really.  I was just thinking of some important stuff
of mine.  Nothing for you to worry about."  
	I felt I should be the judge of that, but let it drop.  It wouldn't be
right to pry, but she is definitely hiding something.  She isn't a very
good liar.  "Okay, um, I was just wondering if you could take me to the
public library?  I need some study materials."
	Her face lit up like Christmas.  Jackpot.  I have a feeling I just brought
up her favorite place in the world.
	"Of course!"  She exclaims.  "We could go right away actually.  My friends
can go to the mall without me today I think."
	So, she announced our little field trip to everyone and we set out.  I
swear, every woman in the room looked so enviously at Ami I thought she
would melt right on the spot.  Fortunately, or not, according to who you
were, she seemed very immune to such things and just walked out.  I got to
hand to this one.  She's tough.
	The library turns out not to be very far away, thank God.  I really didn't
want to have to go across town almost everyday if at all possible.  It's a
simple library, but has everything I need.  Ami is an old pro at the place
and quickly points out all the great features of this particular library. 
Everything from the computerized card catalog to the Xerox machine was
included in the extensive tour.  The Tokyo Museum of Art  tour wasn't this
impressive.  I feel entirely worn out by the time we  cross the building.  
	I sit in the small vending machine room located at one end of the place. 
I sigh as I take a drink of a soda I purchased.  I look at the blue haired
girl with an eyebrow raised.  "You sure do know your library."  I tell her
quietly, we 'are' in a library after all.
	She blushes.  "Well, yes.  I do get out to it quite often.  Sort of my
home away from home."
	"Heck, I never knew my way around my own house as well as you know your
way around this place.  I'm glad I have such a good guide though, saves me
all sorts of trouble."  I smile along with the compliment.
	Her blush now deepens, rather cutely.  I figure I better stop laying it on
so thick or she might pass out.  "So, what do you and your friends do? 
Besides hang out at the mall?"
	I'm rather surprised at the serious look she gives me.  "We don't really
do much more than that.  Mostly just hang out around Rei's and Usagi's
places.  We walk around town, go to school, normal girl stuff."
	"Oh."  Liar.  Man, this girl really should stop lying so much when she's
so absolutely terrible at doing so.  Not that I know what 'girl stuff' is,
but I know when someone is pulling my leg, and not really attempting to
hide it too well.  "Well, allright.  It's just that I'm going to be here
for a while you know.  So, I might hang out with you and Mamoru once and a
while to take a break from my studies."
	"With Mamoru, we usually go to the mall or someplace to eat.  He mostly
goes just to make Usagi happy."  She gets a somewhat faraway look in her
eye for a moment, then it's gone.
	Geez, are these girls enigmatic or what?  "Sounds good to me, I'm not much
on big time stuff anyway.  Not that it's any of my business, but what's
with Mamoru and Usagi.  Aren't they a little, um, well you know what I
mean?"
	She looks into my eyes and says simply, "It's a long story."
	I suppose I'll have to leave it at that.  I'm definitely not going to get
anything more out of her.  Not that I'd have the chance anyway, for a pager
goes off on Ami.
	She looks very startled for a second, then reaches into her pocket.  She
brings out a little device and rises from the table.  She smiles at me and
tells me that she'll see me later.  With that, she runs off.
	Now, I'm really not one to pry mind you.  Regardless of what I may be
getting across so far, I'm really not.  However, situations lately have
seriously piqued my curiosity.  I simply must know what is so important  to
have sent Ami rushing out of here like that.  Certainly it can't be
anything short of an emergency.  I could see the slight fear in her eyes. 
So, against my better judgment, I take off after her.  
	I keep a respectable distance from her as I race down the road in hot 
pursuit.  Man she's fast!  I would have never pegged her for a track star,
but she could easily do the five minute mile.  Fortunately, I am a track
star, so have no problem keeping up with her.
	After what seems like four miles, we seem to arrive at her destination. 
It is the mall everyone is at, I assume.  I mean, how many malls this big
could there be around here?  What is odd is the smoke rising from the top
of the building.
	This sight preoccupied me, so I didn't see the other peculiar sight until
I was on top of it.  If it wasn't for the brightness of the light, I
probably would have missed it entirely.  Perhaps that would have been for
the better.  For it is a sight no man was yet supposed to see.  
	Ami is floating in the air about three feet off the ground.  What makes
this really weird is the fact that she is rotating and entirely nude.  I
mean, not a stitch of clothing on.  Now, I am an honorable man, but this is
something even I can not avert my gaze from.  It's not everyday you see a
floating naked girl who is emitting the light of a small star.
	After a few seconds of this some clothes coalesce around her in a shower
of bubbles.  The clothes that are put on made me wonder what the point was.
 Flashy they are, very concealing they are not.  Kind of like a leotard
with a mini skirt attachment.  With this insanely huge bow across the
front.  White boots and gloves also adorn her, with a little crown to top
it all off.  All in all, it is very attractive, but the point still eludes
me.
	Then, a memory makes its way into my main conscious after an almost epic
battle.  The Sailor Senshi!  I have heard of these do-gooders dressed in
revealing attire.
	Ami is one?  Now, that is definitely a surprise.  However, it does explain
why she was hiding so much from me earlier.  A few other questions went
through my mind in tandem.  Does this make all her friends the rest of the
Senshi?  What exactly are they here for?  Finally, what is that long story
she was talking about with Usagi and Mamoru?
 	Hmmm...  Well, questions later.  Now, I must seriously find out what Ami
is doing here in her Senshi form.
	Sailor Mercury, as I remember, shoots off into the mall like blue
lightning.  I follow her as well as I can.
	Inside the mall I am shocked to find a one story, um, thing there.  It's
not only big, but man is it ugly!  I'm being one hundred percent serious
here.  It is the incarnation of nasty looks.  Staring at it a while begins
to make me sick as a matter of fact.  So, I turn my attention to what is
going on around it.  Mercury is joining the rest of the Scouts, who,
judging by hairstyle, are definitely the rest of the friends I met earlier.
 Including the unmistakable purple of Rei.  Sailor Mars, huh?  Well, seems
rather appropriate I must admit.  She is the fire reader after all.  
	The Scouts begin to attack the huge critter.  I am pretty much too scared,
I can admit it, to do anything but watch.  Well, at least I'm not making a
mess of my pants.  That's me, the optimist.  The Scouts seem to be doing a
pretty good job.  The beast is big and strong, but dumb as a nail.  This
makes it pretty easy pickings for the Senshi's offense, which, I might add,
is pretty incredible to witness.  Fire, lightning, lasers, and soap bubbles
were flying all over the place.  The last one, while doing its job of
concealing, was making my skin rather sticky.  At  a whim, I sniffed my arm
tentatively.  Figures, doesn't actually smell like anything.  
	So engulfed in my research am I, that I don't notice the misshapen
tentacle until it bashes me across the room.  That hurt, but not as much as
the wall.  I almost feel my consciousness ebb.  However, something inside
me seems to snap right before blackness can fill my eyes.  I look up at
Usagi, who is standing over me with a worried look on her face.
	"Are you allright, sir?"  She asks me as she kneels next to my prone form.
	I chuckle between coughs.  "Heh, you're a bad liar too, Usagi."  I comment
as I try to move into a sitting position.  I meet with mixed success, as my
leg gets twisted a bit, causing me to sit down hard on it.  Ouch.
	A look of shock crosses Sailor Moon's face as she stares at me.  Poor 
girl, doesn't even know what to do in a situation like this.  I try to
explain, "Well, you should get a less incriminating hair style."
	This comment gives her a darker expression.  "Hey!  What's wrong with my
hair?!"  Then, she realizes that she more or less handed the truth to me on
a silver platter, and clams up again looking embarrassed.  
	"Hey."  I say to the upset looking heroine.  "It's not so bad that I know.
 I won't tell anyone.  You have my word."  I try to soothe her some more,
but an intense pain wracks my body.  I curl up into a ball, trying to
relieve some of the excruciating agony.  It doesn't work on bit, which
really sucks I can tell you.  However, just when I think I might thankfully
pass out from the torture, it stops.  I look up again after a moment of
getting myself under control.  Usagi is looking quite worried at me.  
	"Are you okay?"  She lays a hand on me to try and help.
	A light spears from her chest, causing Usagi to pull her hand away from me
suddenly.  She stared in shock as the Silver Crystal escapes from its
housing and comes to hover over my body.  I just sort of stare at the whole
phenomenon with awe.  I didn't know why she was doing it, and really didn't
think she was by the look on her face.  So, what was up with this wacky
thing?
	The Crystal shone some more light upon me, then went back to its home. 
Usagi laid a hand at her breast where it now lay, quiet.  "What was that?" 
She cried.
	Now, I heard her ask this, but I sure was not in a mood to answer.  If you
have ever had an eternity of memories dumped on you all at once, you would
have an idea of what I was feeling right now.  No?  Well, let me say, it's
a bit disorienting.  Okay, it's extremely disorienting, and unnerving.  I
mean, I am now aware of so much stuff.  I feel my former self recess into
my own mind as it flees the greater psyche that is taking over.  I am now
what I once was, a thousand years ago, when the Silver Millennium ended....
	FLASHBACK ALERT  :)
	<Gravity> was simply passing through.  It was on its way to meet its
companions.  Except its energy was caught up in a mysterious whirlwind. 
This wind made itself out to be a Force Crystal.  There were only five of
them in the universe, four of which were in <Gravity> and its compatriots. 
This fifth Crystal was an enigma.  However, <Gravity> only had a few
seconds to ponder the mystery before it was drawn inside.  A tenth of a
second before being taken, it figured everything out.  Unfortunately, this
was a quarter of a second too late, and it was lost.  Lost to time, a
concept only recently discovered by <Gravity>, as it was pulled into the
present with everyone else involved with the Silver Millennium.
	END FLASHBACK
	Yet, this does not work, as this greater mind cannot exist in such a
limited form.  So, it forms a barrier, which blocks it into the inner mind,
where there is infinite space.  I find myself pushed back to the surface of
my own consciousness.  Finally, I regain control of myself.        
However, I am not quite the same.  Sure, I'm the same person, basically. 
Now, though, I have a power and a consciousness that was not there before. 
Or was, but was never ever able to make itself present.
	All of this realization takes about two seconds.  While there is still a
bit of chaos in my mind, I can now cogitate well enough to come back to
reality.  I gaze up at Usagi, who almost falls backward from what she must
see in my eyes.  I can feel the amazing power I have been endowed with
flowing through me in a torrent.
END
FOR NOW ^_^

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