Gaijin 

Part 22 

Flames of vengeance. 

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

Rei Hino sat at the sacred flame, sweat beaded on her forehead as she
struggled to control the power within it. A vision was becoming ever
clearer in her head. 

Flames surrounded him; an angry snarl was present on his face. 

The boy again. Dark energy poured from his form as he stood with an
ornate sword thrust into the ground below him. 

Rei gasped in horror, but the vision would not let go. She didn't really
struggle against it as it moved on. 

The image cleared a bit more, showing that the boy had his blade thrust
through the heart of a grotesque youma. It sort of looked like
Spiderman, but it was different. A gasp escaped her lips as a memory
faded into her mind. Once thought to be a mere dream, it was a shocking
revelation. "What is this?" 

She couldn't understand. Did this thing have some connection to their
supposed ally? 

Rei stood up and looked down into the fire, the vision was still clear
in her head as she stepped back and muttered. It wouldn't let go.
"Enough! Leave me!" she snarled as she backed away more forcefully. 

The image began to fade, but not before the skin of the monster seemed
to melt away. The first thing she saw was the eyes. A pair of very
familiar eyes, followed by a familiar nose. In the space of a second,
she realized who she was looking at. 

The boy turned his head to look at her and grinned in a manner that
didn't look close to human. 

"Oh god...no," she whispered as her eyes went wide. 

Rei opened her mouth to scream, and collapsed to the ground out cold. 

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

Usagi Tsukino stared out into the moonlight. It was something she
enjoyed for reasons she couldn't fully explain. 

All she really knew was that she had failed as Sailor Moon. 

She clenched her fist in front of her face and frowned at it. "Why?" She
didn't look that sad, it was more of a frustrated somberness. Usagi was
angry, but she wasn't sure what she was angry at. 

"I still can't. I don't understand, what am I missing?" 

The others were in danger; she knew it. They were fighting valiantly,
but it just wasn't working out for them. There was that evil boy, the
Youma, and the people trying to kill the boy. Plus there was the advent
of newer, stronger, and more powerful Youma. The Goblin creature that
Spiderman managed to beat was a prime example of this. It was far too
deadly for the inexperienced young girls to handle. They needed her, and
now she had the ultimate failure to deal with. Even after she had
healed, the power did not return. 

There just had to be something she could do to help. Something she could
do. 

Usagi Tsukino stood up firmly and stared defiantly at the moon. 

"I don't need you." 

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

"Kajura, what are you doing?" asked Saito as he lit a cigarette while
sitting on the man's desk. 

The older man looked up at his partner with a smirk on his face. "It's
here." 

"Kajura, if this is another of your stupid video games..." started Saito
as he rolled his eyes. 

The man merely held up the disk and smirked at his partner. "I got this
today from my friendly informant." 

"The one that won't meet me?" said the man as he snorted. 

"I don't think that would be a good idea, he's already having a hard
time dealing with having me around, much less two of us." 

"Sounds like a likable guy, someone I could really trust," said Saito as
he frowned at the man. 

"I think I can trust this one, call it a hunch." 

Saito ran his fingers through his hair in a frustrated gesture. "You've
been watching those American TV shows again haven't you?" 

"There was a lot of information on this disk. He basically filled the
disk up. Most of it is corporate crap, I'll let the lawyers have a look
to be sure, but there are some other key items in this information as
well." 

"Such as?" asked the younger man as he rubbed the stubble on his face
for a moment. 

"Something big is going on down there. There is a lot of money being
funneled towards something top-secret. Plus a few scientific ventures,
nothing illegal, but he seems to have taken a rather odd interest in
genetics and bio firms. Not something you'd expect your average
businessman to be interested in. Especially one that mainly operates in
construction." 

"That is unusual, but nothing that will bite though." 

"There's more though. Seems he's given most of his duties to underlings.
Meaning he's devoting his attention to a few things and little else." 

"That's a good time to make someone screw up," said Saito as he arched
his eyebrows slightly. 

"It's unlikely, most of these men have worked for him almost their whole
lives. These are only the most trusted of his men. His family in some
cases." Saito paused as he stared at the screen for a moment. "And
mine," he whispered under his breath. 

"What was that?" asked his partner. 

"It's nothing," he muttered as he moved on. "The real jewel is this
one." He tapped the screen and grinned darkly. He pointed at the screen
as it came up and tapped the screen. "Can you tell me what this is?" 

"That's...Hisami's personal schedule," muttered Saito under his breath. 

"That's right, and this, is when he's planning on visiting his
back-stabbing underling. It's a formal occasion, a sort of warning that
he's coming to kill him." 

"I'll wear a nice shirt. Awful nice of those Yakuza boys to be so
polite, and tell each other that they are going to kill them." 

"Why would Hisami go himself though? That's a bold move for him. He's
not exactly famous for being strong and brave. The guy is old." 

"I don't know, but it makes me not trust this information." 

"It doesn't make sense. I've got a feeling that it's no smoke screen
though. Maybe he knows he'll be well protected?" 

"That could be, but men like him don't take chances often." 

"I know, that's why I have to follow up on this," said Kajura with a
serious frown on his face. "This could be the only chance we get for a
long time." 

"Well, you ask the chief. I'm not going in there with this mess on my
hands." 

"You're coming," said Kajura without looking up from the screen. 

"What?" 

"You're my partner, you have to be there remember?" said the older man
as he thought about what he'd been given, and how much he was willing to
trust it. The boy had cautioned him on what might happen if he screwed
up. 

"Whatever you say old man," grumbled Saito as he hung his head a little. 

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

Carrot stood in front of Michiru Kaiou as she sat on his bed. They both
stared at each other for a long moment, Carrot wasn't sure what was
going on, but he felt edgy. The tingling sensation hadn't eluded him
either. "What's going on?" he asked casually. 

"You haven't called," replied Michiru stonily. 

Carrot watched her sit for a moment; she seemed remarkably calm. "I've
been busy." 

The girl looked up at him with a small frown on her face. 

"What do you want from me? I've got a hit on my head, that makes for
broken dates at times." 

The girl looked away, but not before he noticed her frown deepen
slightly. "Shouldn't have said 'dates'," he muttered under his breath. 

"I suppose I understand that," she seemed to relent a little
reluctantly. 

"So now what?" he asked her as he relaxed slightly. 

"Now, we talk," she said as she looked up at him firmly. 

"Huh?" he muttered dumbly. "What's to talk about now? It's obvious I
can't..." 

"You can't what?" she said irritably. 

The boy stared at her for a moment. "Well, it's not like I can date you
know. Between dodging the yakuza and those stupid monsters, I don't have
much free time. It's not like I can take you out or anything. I have to
avoid going out in plain sight as much as possible." 

The girl simply blinked in confusion. 

Carrot sighed. "Look. I'm sorry about what happened. I've never been
really good at this whole romance thing." 

The girl flushed slightly at that and looked down at the floor. "I..." 

"What do you want from me Michiru?" 

"I don't know, but this doesn't feel settled," she replied simply. 

The boy slumped his shoulders down and sighed. "Look, it's impossible
for me to do more. This is the best I can do, an apology and a wish for
the best of luck in your life." 

Michiru didn't look very pleased with that. "So...it meant nothing to
you? I was just some...girl?" 

Carrot backed against the door with his hands held up. "No! Don't say
that!" He felt something hard press against his belly and her froze. "Oh
god. I'm gonna die." He looked down and saw the shining silver surface
of the revolver that was jammed into his gut. 

"Shut up you thoughtless prick!" 

"If you go out with me, you could die damn it!" he cried desperately. 

Michiru seemed slightly calmed by this and narrowed her eyes as she
stared him in the face. "What?" 

"Don't you think I'd like a girlfriend? Don't you think I'd like to go
to high school and be basically normal?" 

Michiru was definitely not expecting this from him. He seemed somewhat
irritated instead of afraid. 

"Damn it. Why can't anything ever go my way?" he muttered as he crossed
his arms over his chest. 

"You'd better start explaining..." started Michiru as she stumbled back
and waved the weapon at him lightly. 

"What do you think would happen if we started seeing each other
Michiru?" he said as he sat down on the floor and glared at her. 

The girl simply stared at him and lowered the weapon. "I don't know. I'm
not even sure if..." 

"Then put that damn thing away!" he snorted at her. "You want to talk?
Fine. I'll talk." 

Michiru blushed as she sat down on the bed and laid the gun on top of
the sheets. 

"I'll tell you what would happen. First, the Yakuza would notice, then
they'd either kidnap you, or kill you. I'm thinking it'd probably be the
former at first. They'd keep trying to use you as bait to catch me,
maybe send a few snipers to follow you around or hang around your house.
Then, heh, here's the kicker. The evil monsters that keep attacking
would figure out we were an item sooner or later, and then they'd put
their two cents in. You think you've had problems with them so far, you
ain't seen nothin." 

Michiru was simply staring at the floor. "But..." 

"I can't protect you Michiru. I've had enough trouble just keeping
myself alive." 

The girl was more confused than ever and she stared up at him. 

He didn't exactly look happy, but he wasn't real broken up about it
either. 

Michiru was definitely unsure about what she could do. It seemed she had
no options, she could forget about him, or...or what? Act like it never
happened? Could she do that? She'd given him everything that night, and
now...he couldn't follow through. He wouldn't follow through with it.
"Now what?" 

Carrot turned to stare at her for a moment. "Go on with your life of
course, sooner or later, our paths will cross again." Carrot was hoping
he'd live that long, then again, Sailor Uranus had shown up pretty
early. 

"Do you think they will?" asked the girl halfheartedly. She seemed to be
mulling over what he'd told her still. 

"Actually, I'm pretty sure," he responded dryly. Die? Like he could get
off that easy. He'd probably be driven insane by his personal life
before then. 

"What about those two?" asked the girl as she nodded towards the door. 

"I never see them anywhere but here," he replied with a shrug. 

"That girl is a reporter," said Michiru as she looked at him dumbly. 

"Yeah," he said without comprehending. 

"I saw you with her the day that thing attacked the festival," she said
as she narrowed her eyes at him and started to reach for her weapon
slowly. 

"She was working, and so was I. Our paths cross sometimes. I've heard I
make for a pretty good news story sometimes. As long as we aren't
personally linked, she'll be fine." 

"I...I don't care," she replied as she shook her head and grasped the
handle of the weapon tightly with one hand. 

Carrot had his back to the wall again, but he didn't look frightened
this time. He was watching her closely. 

She frowned at him firmly. "I can take care of myself." 

"Then why do you need me?" he replied simply. "Michiru, face the facts,
this is more than you can handle." 

Anger burned in her eyes as she stared him down. She wasn't sure what to
say or do. She raised her weapon up and fired two shots. 

A voice called out from the next room as they heard the shots. He wasn't
sure if it was just one of them or all of them screaming his name. He
simply stared forward while gasping for breath as his eyes almost bugged
out of his skull. 

"You're not going to leave me behind like that," she said firmly as she
narrowed her eyes at him. He had barely even seen the movement, it was
incredibly fast. Two holes in the wall behind him now smoked on either
side of his head. He swallowed hard and nodded. He turned his head and
saw the door was cracked slightly. Three human heads and one small set
of ears could be seen peering into the room. 

"Do you mind? I'm talking to my boyfriend," said Michiru as she narrowed
her eyes at them. They vanished in an instant. 

"Oh god," muttered Carrot in horror. 

"Eight o'clock, Friday night, you'd better be there." 

Carrot nodded violently. 

The girl tipped her head lightly and smiled cheerfully. "Good." 

Carrot remained frozen against the wall as he stared forward. He
completely ignored her leaving and gasped for breath. "Oh man. Why me?"
He was almost in tears at this point. 

Spike poked his head into the room and grinned at him. "At least she's
cute!" 

"You shut up!" he snapped as he hit the man in the face with an empty
plastic bottle from the ground next to him. 

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

Haruka stood with her bag slung over her shoulder in front of the seedy
motel. It was on the edge of the bad side of town. She hated to stay in
a place like that, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Almost
every hotel in the Kyoto had no vacancies left. Thanks to some concert
that was going to be happening in town the next night. She walked inside
and found no one there save for an old man behind the counter. She
walked up and simply nodded to him. There were no more than seven keys
left on the wall anyway. 

All and all it had been an unpleasant drive. She'd just dropped her life
and left Tokyo. "Why did I do that?" she muttered angrily. Half with
herself, and half for the pair she'd left behind. "Let him have her."
She clenched her fist and growled as she took the key from the elderly
man at the office counter. 

As she turned to go to her room and finally get some rest, she finally
realized what she had done. "Now what?" She stopped long enough to stare
at the key in her hand. She had no idea what she would do with her so
called 'new life'. It didn't feel any newer; it seemed to suck more than
ever in fact. 

"What the hell. It can only get better, right?" 

Apparently, no one had ever told her about saying that. 

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

Kei stood in the shadows of Hisami's office with a scowl on her face.
Her only remaining Uncle and her grandfather stood on the opposite side
of the room watching what was taking place. 

Hikyu, or rather the creature that he had become, simply stood behind
Hisami with a cruel looking grin on his face. He seemed amused by the
goings on more than anything else. 

"Three days from now, I will be inspecting our operations in the
industrial section of Tokyo," said the old man calmly. "It is a
dangerous time, and I feel our operation will need to be...disciplined." 

Kei nodded once and stared straight at him. 

"I'll be leaving in the morning, and during this time I'll be
vulnerable," continued the man as if she had not acknowledged him at
all. "My security is resting in your hands." 

"You shall not be harmed," said Kei seriously. 

"I know," said the man as he stood up. "The three of you will be
accompanying me." 

The girl seemed surprised by this, but not upset. "You think something
is going to happen? One of us should be enough for this." 

"I am concerned," said the man as he stood up and smiled at her for a
moment. "Two of your number have fallen." 

"Three," corrected Kei as she looked directly at the silent creature
that stood behind her master. 

"Hikyu has failed," said the largest and oldest of the shinobi. "More
than once." 

"So has Kei, and you for that matter," said the thing coolly. 

"Hold your tongue," snarled the man hatefully. 

Goblin stuck his tongue out at him and pulled his eyelid down. 

Kei ignored this display and stared at Hisami as coolly as ever. "You're
afraid he might show up, aren't you?" 

The man frowned at her. "The thought had crossed my mind." 

"As skilled as he is, he's still a coward. He'll run before he fights
all of us." Kei's answer firm. 

"He's smart," said the old man as he stepped forward. "Much more
dangerous than you give him credit for. Your mother was the best
swordsman in generations." 

Kei snorted. 

The Goblin had been relatively silent, but rubbed his chin in thought
over in his corner. 

"You have something to add?" asked the old man. 

"No, but I'll enjoy squashing that pest once I see him again." 

"Not if I kill him first," snapped Kei sharply. 

"You won't," replied the creature. 

"Enough of this," snapped the old man. "Hikyu is not one of us any
longer. If you bring him along, he's your problem Hisami." 

"What?" said the man as he turned to face the aged master. 

"I've seen that look before, he's plotting something. He no longer holds
our interests in mind. He's dangerous and a wild card, though powerful
he is. He serves a different master now, I suggest you remember that." 

"I serve no master," said the thing irritably. 

"My point exactly," replied the old man as calmly as ever. "You were
told not to return until your job was done." 

"There were complications," snorted the thing. 

"You had to come back and lick your wounds after he smashed you like a
fly?" asked Kei almost playfully. 

"I came closer to killing him than any of you did," replied the creature
calmly. 

"I doubt that," said Kei as she fingered the knife that hung at her
side. 

"It doesn't matter. Your main concern here is keeping the police
occupied and away from where I'll be," said Hisami with a rough snort.
"Kei will remain with me, in case he does show up." 

"He's tried to assassinate you twice already," said the large ninja
coldly. "I should protect you as well." 

"Has he?" asked the oldest shinobi as he stepped into the center of the
room. "I wonder..." 

"What's to wonder about?" said Hisami with a frown on his face. 

"Mitsuki was keeping a secret from us. One that I think was very
dangerous." The old man narrowed his eyes as he looked at his remaining
clan. 

"That boy?" muttered the large ninja after a moment of thinking. 

"What?" said Kei in disgusted confusion. 

"Only time will reveal the truth about him," said the old man as he
turned away. "Be on guard, not just with Hisami, but with your own
lives." 

Kei nodded seriously and turned to look at Hisami. 

He frowned at her and turned to glance at his room. "Come Kei, it is
time to retire."

	"I think not," she replied simply as she moved into the shadows.

	"What?" snarled the man angrily.

	"I am not my mother," she replied simply. "It's time you learned the
difference between a toy and a weapon."

	"I will not�" started the man angrily. 

	Her uncle turned to look at her emotionlessly, and her grandfather did
the same. Hikyu was neither impressed nor interested.

	"You will do nothing. You need me. I'm the only one he has faced one on
one that has lived. Hakage's loyalty lies with the school, not you, and
Hikyu is more dangerous to you than helpful. Do you really want your
only protection to be an old man?"

	The large man snarled at her angrily.

	She smirked at him casually. "Your life rests in my hands now Hisami."

	The man turned towards her grandfather and snarled at him next. "You
stand there and do nothing."

	"She is correct Hisami. Hakage will not die for you, and I am not the
man I once was. I can do nothing to stop this. I doubt if she would take
an order from me about this."

	"Screw your secretary," she replied as she walked out of the room
calmly. "You seem satisfied with her during the day."

	The man seethed with rage as he slowly sank into the chair behind his
desk. 

	The large ninja frowned at the old man for a moment. 

	The small man simply looked up at him and nodded slowly once. 

	He clenched his fist and swung it down violently as he turned to walk
out of the room.

	Hisami noticed none of this as he stared out at the city from his
window with a deep frown on his face. 

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

	Carrot was sitting on a high rooftop looking down at the clinic below.
It was the top of an older apartment building about a block down the
road. He was crouched on the ledge with a frown on his face. 

	"Well, at least I've got a girlfriend now�" He looked somewhat
thoughtful as he said this and hung his head after a moment. "Who am I
kidding? How do I keep getting into these messes?"

	He paused as a light tingling began on his back. He jumped up and
turned around with his foot ready to step back off the ledge. The
tingling didn't stop, but it wasn't strong enough to alarm him quite
that much yet.

	"Heh. You're quite skilled to have sensed me," said a voice from the
shadows. 

	"Yeah, I get a lot of that," he replied as his eyes searched the
darkness in front of him. The gigantic man seemed to melt out of the
darkness in front of him. He stood with his hands hanging at his sides
loosely and appeared very cautious. 

	Carrot crouched slightly as he recognized him. "You."

	He raised his hand slowly. "I have not come to fight. I am to discuss
terms with you."

	"Terms?" said Carrot as he relaxed ever so slightly. 

	"You have wiped out all but three of the leaders of our school."

	"If they hadn't bothered me, I wouldn't have done that," he replied
coolly. "Finally! A break!" cried his mind joyously.

	"It is irrelevant. We were given orders."

	"Yeah, don't blame you, just the guy in charge," snorted Carrot
irritably. 

	"Our orders have not changed," replied the large ninja.

	"So what do you want then? Is this some kind of temporary truce or
something?"

	"Not exactly," replied the large ninja. "I cannot face you in combat. I
have been forbidden by the grandmaster of my school. I cannot die with
honor, nor can I receive the glory of destroying such an opponent."

	"Well, I'm sure disappointed," grumbled Carrot.

	"You should be, it would have been quite a battle," replied the ninja
stonily.

	"So what the hell is it then."

	"My master wishes to meet you."

	"Heh. I'll bet he does," snorted Carrot.

	"You have my word of honor that you will not be harmed. As long as you
behave yourself that is. We will meet unarmed."

	"Not possible," replied Carrot simply.

	"You are refusing me."

	"Actually, I was talking about that last part." He raised his arm to
his side and closed his hand. An iron pole appeared out of nowhere in
his grip. "See."

	The ninja took a step back. "What?"

	The boy swung it over his shoulder and stared at the man calmly. "You
want to meet, fine. I'll meet one of you. Believe me when I say, I'll
know if there's more than one of you there."

	"You have my word of honor. Be here in one week's time. I will be
here."

	"Why so long?" snorted the boy irritably.

	"Consider it a busy time for us."

	Carrot nodded. "I can accept that I guess."

	"Beware. This does not bind Kei and Hikyu. They may still die with
honor facing you, but no other members of our clan may face you
unprovoked."

	"Huh? Wait a minute!" snapped Carrot.

	"I could not stop Kei if I wanted too, Hikyu is no longer a member of
our school."

	"Hikyu?" muttered Carrot in confusion.

	"Yes, you know him as the Goblin. It was you that caused his monstrous
transformation. When you killed him the first time."

	Carrot cringed ever so slightly at that. "Probably that bomb guy," he
thought irritably. 

	"We will not meet again until that day."

	"Great, bye now!" said Carrot cheerfully as he waved at the man and
fell backward off the ledge.

	The larger ninja watched him swing away. He paused suddenly as he
noticed something odd. "That is not wire he swings on�" He stepped
towards the ledge and peered at the thread that hung across the street
from him on the wall. "Cloth?" He pondered it for a moment, it was
almost like some kind of rope. "He grows more skilled with each
opponent." He actually sounded somewhat impressed. "A pity, it would
have been a fine battle."

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

	Kunzite knelt before Beryl with his arm covering his chest. "Everything
is going according to plan."

	She smiled down at him and narrowed her eyes. "Excellent. How goes the
operation?"

	"Superbly," said Zoicite as he emerged from behind one of the nearby
pillars. He was leaning casually with his arms crossed over his chest.
He stepped out and gave the evil woman a deep bow. "We should be able to
collect enough energy to raise Metallia. Then she can deal with those
bothersome senshi."

	"Excellent," replied Beryl. "Those buffoons are dealing with that
monster you set loose in Tokyo still. All while our operations in Kyoto
go undetected."

	"It's almost been too easy," said Kunzite with a dark smile forming on
his lips. "Soon, not even the Silver Imperium Crystal will be able to
stop us."

	"You still have not found it?"

	"Our agents have failed. Those that still search do not send back
positive reports. They speak of powerful beings, other than the senshi
at work."

	"That boy," said Beryl angrily.

	"Yes," replied Zoicite.

	"Why is he not dead?"

	The man growled and clenched his fist. Beryl always seemed to shove
that back in their faces.

	"He still lives, and I do not possess the crystal. Do you realize what
Metallia will do to us if we do not have it when she is resurrected? Or
if he still lives? He must be destroyed!"

	"He grows stronger with each encounter," replied Kunzite calmly. "It is
difficult to create a Youma that can handle him."

	"So send two!" snarled the woman angrily. "Do it yourself if you have
too!" 

	"Why does he matter?" grumbled Kunzite.

	Beryl raised her fist into the air and lifted him off his feet. He
clutched at his neck as he choked in the air. "Fool! Do you still not
understand? That boy is from another world! Another universe! Just as
Metallia came to our world! Jadeite's bungling has caused something with
the potential to become as powerful as her to enter our world! Her rule
must be absolute! We have no way of knowing how strong he can become!"

	She turned away from him and he fell on the ground in a pile. His eyes
were wide with terror as he gasped for breath. 

	"Kill him!"

	"It shall be done," replied Zoicite with a small frown forming on his
face. "Can it be? Something this strong? He is still weak though�" He
turned towards Kunzite with a deep scowl on his face. "Come, we have
much to discuss."

	The man staggered to his feet and glared at him for a moment. "Very
well."

	"We must be at Nishikyogohu Stadium tonight," said Zoicite. "The boy
can wait until that is taken care of."

	The pair strolled out of the room together and the great doors to the
hallway closed behind them.

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

	Haruka sat on a park bench with her shades on. She was wearing her
racing jacket and looked quite masculine at the moment. Not that it was
all that unusual. 

	There was a boy sitting next to her with his head hung down. 
	
	"Something wrong kid?"

	"I was gonna take my girlfriend to see Hikari Negashi tonight, but she
dumped me for a guy who had better seats."

	Haruka stared at him dumbly. "What? What kind of bimbo would�?"

	The boy sighed at this. "I guess you're right, but I thought Mika was
the one ya know?"

	The girl cringed slightly at this and said nothing. 

	"Now what am I gonna do with these? Do you know how much they cost me?"

	"Not really no," replied the girl with a small shrug. "That damn
concert made it nearly impossible to find a room in town though."

	"Oh, you're from out of town?" asked the boy as he glanced at her. It
was fairly obvious from his tone that he thought she was a guy, and that
suited her fine at the moment. 

	"Tokyo."

	"Wow," replied the boy with a slight shrug. "Sorry about unloading and
all. I know it's not polite at all, but�"

	Haruka waved it off. "No big deal, everyone needs to sometimes."

	"I guess you're right. Listen, I don't want these. I can't stand the
music, if I knew I was getting laid afterwards I could use em, but every
available girl I know already has a date."

	Haruka blinked at him.

	"Maybe you could take your girlfriend, or find a girl to go with you or
something. The seats aren't that good, but�"

	"No thanks," replied Haruka. 

	"Really. I insist." He shoved them in her chest and started walking
off.

	"I thought you said these were expensive," said Haruka as she stood up
with them in her hand. 

	"Well, they weren't that expensive. I should have sprung for better
seats. Then I wouldn't be in this mess. Man, Mika put out too�" He
walked away grumbling to himself and Haruka sat back down. 

	"Man, what a jerk. What the hell am I supposed to do with these?"

	"Um, excuse me�You like Hikari Negashi?"

	She turned to face the voice with a slight frown on her face. "What if
I do?"

	She found herself staring at the face of a very pretty girl of about
her own age. She had short cut blonde hair, a pair of cut off jeans and
a white shirt tied over a skintight shirt. 

	"It's just, I never thought a guy like you would listen to her," said
the girl as she stared at Haruka's face.

	"Guy like me?" she muttered as she stared at the girl.

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

	Haruka stood in line with a very slight frown on her face. The girl she
had met in the park was hanging off her arm as she stood in line for the
concert. "How did I manage to talk myself into this?" She glanced down
at her arm and sighed. "Oh, right."

	"What was that?" asked her date cheerfully. She was dressed in a rather
casual but nice green dress. Her hair was pulled up as well. The outfit
really showed off her figure.

	"Nothing," replied Haruka calmly. She handed the tickets over and was
bodily dragged inside by her date. 

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

	The stadium was packed as the pair sat in their seats. A little over
20,000 people were there for the sold out show. The field was used for
soccer, but a large stage had been set up in the middle of the field. 

	Haruka sighed as the light's started to dim. Spotlights moved through
the crowd as the stadium roared. She was pretty annoyed already. Still,
she hadn't thought about Michiru in a long time. 

	"Well, up till now anyway," she muttered under her breath. The thought
passed quickly though as a girl in an insanely pink outfit rushed onto
the stage excitedly. There were three backup singers dressed in yellow,
blue, and orange right behind her. "Oh man�"

	Luckily, her date was too caught up in the show to notice her date's
complaints.

	Hikari rushed up to the stage and bounced up and down excitedly. "Hello
Kyoto!"

	The crowd cheered in response.

	"Welcome! We have a great show for you tonight!"

	The crowd cheered in response.

	"We're going to start off with a song from our first album!"

	The crowd cheered in response.

	"Honey Love Me!" 

	The crowd cheered in response.

	Haruka though her head was going to explode. Hikari was cute, not that
she could see her from where she was sitting. A memory of a girl about a
year younger than her with short cut hair on the cover of an album
floated into her memory. 

	It was about this point that she realized what almost every male in the
crowd was looking at. They were almost all watching the girls around
them, a few were even staring at their dates. Some were staring at hers.
Almost all the girls were acting insanely cute, squealing, jumping, or
clutching arms excitedly.

	"Oh. I get it now," said Haruka as she turned to look at her date for a
moment. She was jumping up and down excitedly. "This isn't so bad."

	That was when the chorus of the song started. The girls started to sing
along, most of them badly. 

	Haruka hung her head. "Be brave Haruka."

	She snapped to attention at the loud snapping boom that suddenly filled
the air. "What the?" She jumped to her feet and stared down at the now
black stage. A purple light had started in the middle of the stage.
"What the?"

	A voice sounded over the loudspeakers. "Humans, welcome to your doom."
It was male, Haruka could tell that much. It also made her
uncomfortable. As if she'd heard it before. "Who?"

	"Somebody help me!" snapped an angry sounding Hikari.

	"Maybe they're promoting some new anime?" offered Haruka's date.
Everyone was simply watching the stage, and no one seemed alarmed yet.
Confusion was clear on everyone's faces, but no one looked scared.

	"I'm gonna go take a closer look," said Haruka as she jumped out of her
seat and moved into the isle. She started down the stairs with a frown
on her face. "I know that voice from somewhere."

	Spotlights shined down on the stage finally, Zoicite stood with Hikari
dangling in the air behind him. She was kicking her feet and as she got
close, she realized that she didn't look very happy. The man had somehow
wrapped her up in her own microphone chord and hung her from the
rafters. He held a large crystal in his hand and raised it over his
head. "Seal the doors. No one escapes."

	Haruka gasped as she noticed several large things emerge from the
entranceways. They took positions in front of all the doors. They all
looked ridiculous, like something out of a bad sentai anime. People
screamed, but it wasn't really fearful. More like they were enjoying the
show.

	Haruka had seen things like this before. This was no stage show.

	"No! Why?" she muttered in horror. She'd thought she'd left things like
this behind in Tokyo.

	She stumbled back and fell on her rear on the stadium steps. The man on
the stage was familiar. "Zoicite." A memory faded into her mind and she
clutched her head. Another voice started laughing over the loudspeakers.
She knew the laugh as well, but hadn't sounded so cold before.
"Kunzite�why?" These people were allies in her mind. It was obvious they
were enemies now though.

	She clutched her head even tighter. "What can I do?"

	"Transform," responded her own voice, it sounded different though.
Almost as if it was someone else speaking to her. 

	"No! The pen!" she gasped as she stood up and stared forward in horror.
She'd thrown it away in Tokyo.

	"Don't be silly," responded the voice in her head. She raised her hand
over her head reflexively and felt the power focus between her fingers.
In a flash of light the pen was in her hand. 

	Those in the crowd around her turned to face her in confusion. "Uranus
power makeup!" she cried into the air.

	In a spectacular flash of light she spun into the air as her clothes
fades away, only to be replaced by the white of her senshi uniform. The
skirt formed around her waist along with the gloves, boots, and jewelry.
She finished her transformation and glared down at the stadium. "I don't
think so."

	Needless to say the crowd roared with cheers.

	Uranus also noted that she had Zoicite's full attention.

	"An Outer Senshi?" he muttered as he took a step back. He looked very
alarmed. "What is he doing here?"

	Kunzite stepped out of the shadows. "She's still not beyond her first
transformation. She has no chance against the both of us."

	"She must be destroyed," agreed Zoicite. "She is far to dangerous to be
left running loose."

	"I've heard that before," replied Kunzite calmly.

	"Worry about that later! Kill her!" snarled Zoicite as he jumped
forward.

	Haruka ran down the remaining stairs and jumped over the guardrail that
was set up around the field's wall. She landed in the grass in front of
the stage crouched down and slowly rose to her feet.

	"You two will pay for betraying Serenity," said the girl coldly as she
pointed at them both.

	"She knows us?" gasped Zoicite.

	"It doesn't matter, kill her!" cried Kunzite as he began to form a ball
of dark power in his hands. He thrust them forward and what looked like
screaming spirits shot through the air towards Uranus. 

	She stepped back at the sight of the attack, it spread out and rocketed
towards her at high speed. "Damn!" she muttered as she dodged around the
things. It wasn't very difficult, but she had to move fast to do it.

	Unfortunately, Zoicite also thrust his hands forward and sent a focused
ball of energy at her. She shifted to dodge it and was slammed into the
ground as the spirits shot through her body. They tore through her
causing a burning pain where they passed through her. She fell to the
ground on her hands and knees. 

	The crowd gasped in shock.

	"Get up!" cried someone in the stands.

	Haruka struggled to push herself up from the ground as the two men
moved in front of her. 

	"Pathetic, she's no match for us alone," said Zoicite as he chuckled. 

	"Serenity's bravest, a pity you cannot help your queen now," agreed
Kunzite.

	Haruka growled as the men pointed their palms down at her. Their hands
began to glow and she felt pressure all over her body. It pulled at her
from every direction and grew more intense. She grunted in pain as she
writhed on the ground before them.

	"I think she should die slowly, slow down Zoicite," said Kunzite as he
smirked at his partner.

	Haruka actually felt the pressure lessen, but not enough to stop the
pain. She could feel it building more slowly and screamed as she jerked
violently. 

	"What can I do?" screamed her mind through the pain. It was barely able
to function. "I can't fight back, I don't have the strength! There's no
one to help me! I�"

	Her lips moved as she spoke the words softly through her gasps. "No one
to help�"

	"That's right, you are finished!" cried Zoicite triumphantly.

	"Final Protocol."

	"What?" said Kunzite in confusion.

	"No! Kill her now! Quickly!" said Zoicite as the glow on his hands
flared into intense burning power. 

	Haruka screamed in agony as a light started to form in the center of
her chest. A pillar of light shot into the sky through the open area of
the stadium. She screamed as her entire body was lifted off the ground
and spread her arms  as she hung suspended.

	"What has she done?!" cried Kunzite.

	"The other Outer Senshi have not awakened!" gasped Zoicite in shock.

	Haruka was now floating in the air, a huge gold cape fluttered in the
air behind her. On her chest, and on the back of the cape was a crest.
It was a large shield with a red 'S' inside meant to symbolize 'Senshi'.
Power burned around her body. Her uniform has slimmed in appearance and
she glared down at the pair. "Know this, I am not the one who is about
to die."

	Kunzite screamed to the guards at the doors. "Ignore the humans! Kill
her!"

	Haruka merely cracked her knuckles and smirked. 

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

	Guess what? TBC� ^_^

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