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 he was hungry.
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.

 


 

 

--- Carrotglace

--- carrotglace@mindspring.com 

--- EarthLink: It's your Internet.


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