Suggested changes: {before : after}
On Tue, 06 May 2003 16:05:10 -0700 Christopher Olsen
<christopherolsen28@hotmail.com> wrote:
Peter nearly pulled out his pistol before discarding that idea. < If it is
the demoness, my gun's not going to stop her, and if it's one of the guards,
I could shoot him by mistake. Better safe than sorry.> Rather than move
forward, Peter focused on the scene in front of him, recalling {on : one} of he
lessons his father had given him long ago.
"Detective," {Came : came} the quiet but familiar voice. "I thought it might be
you."
"Domo {Arigato Gozimasu, Johnathon-san." She : arigato gozimasu, Johnathon-san," she} said clearly, bowing deeply at
the waist to him.
Remembering herself, Ami turned to Peter Caine, who was starting to get a
bit frustrated at not being able to follow the conversation. She bowed
again to him, this time repeating her words in English. "Thank you very
{much." Ami : much," Ami} said gratefully. "For the loan of your jacket, sir, and for
coming here to rescue me.
Midnight looked up at her in puzzlement. < Which word? {Mated : Mating}?> Ami's
flinch told him that his guess was accurate and he looked worried. < I did
it wrong, didn't I? I hurt you, or....>
The Shaolin {Master : master} bowed slightly before her, speaking to Ami in her native
Japanese. "Take heart, Senshi. No harm shall come to Midnight during your
absence." He switched to English a moment later as Michael and his son
Peter climbed up after Ami. "I am called Caine." He nodded to his son.
"And this is my son, Peter." Kwai Chan Caine bowed again slightly. "It is
good to meet you."
Ami nodded back. "Yes we must. I'll keep up, please lead the way out,
Caine-san." The Shaolin {Priest : priest} nodded back quickly and started off, moving
quietly through the zoo. Ami followed him closely, while Michael and Peter
both quickly untied their ropes (Peter with a sharp knife) and started
coiling them as they followed the older man and the girl they had come to
rescue out of the zoo.
Caine made several inexplicable turns away from the nearest outside wall
before doubling back toward it but no one questioned his judgment, and they
soon reached {a :} the ten foot brick wall that ran around the zoo's exterior.
Ami glanced up at the structure and hesitated.
"Why don't you just give me a hand up, Michael-{san. : san?}" Ami said. "I'll be
fine."
The young man who so resembled Johnathon Dwire-Tendo hesitated for only a
moment before cupping his hands at about knee level. "I'll boost you as
hard as I can." He informed her and Ami nodded, stepping into his hands
with her left foot and grabbing hold of his shoulders in {reparation : preparation}. "On
one..." The man warned her and started quickly counting down. "Three...
two...." He grunted and pulled upward as hard as he could, and the small
girl kicked off as she got as high as he could push her. Michael got a
quick flash of leg and the faint smell of girl in his nostrils before she
was gone, going to the top of the wall and dropping down to the far side in
one smooth motion that he wished he could
emulate.
Caine glanced at his son gagingly for several moments before answering. "It
means {Warrior : warrior : soldier}." He finally answered calmly. "Come." He said to Ami then,
turning back to face her. "We should not linger here. Something...
dangerous... is coming."
Ami took a moment to inspect the car and suddenly smiled as the brand and
color became clear. "It's a little white rabbit!" She said with a giggle,
causing Michael to beam. "I see you've read {Louis : Lewis} Carroll then?"
Michael popped open the door for her immediately. "Sure, {Ami "hop" : Ami. "Hop"} on in."
Michael wrinkled his nose. "Maybe he just meant that you're... a warrior."
He nodded to himself. "That old man is a Shaolin {Priest : priest}, apparently... and
he was able to catch a small... demon, I guess, outside your cage." Michael
shrugged. "I mean, even I can tell, now that I know to look for it... you
carry yourself like a fighter... and your chi..." He shrugged again. "It's
very strong. That detective is a martial artist too... but the {Priest : priest}...
he's REALLY good."
The {Ancient : ancient} rolled his eyes and started putting up his wards on the front
door and the windows of his shop. Michael simply nodded, remembering what
the goddesses had said about Mara's weaknesses, and Ami went to help the old
man place the wards, having seen Rei do the same many times before. The old
man said an incantation in Chinese before placing each ward, and Ami could
feel the power flowing
through him each time. She smiled, feeling much safer under their
protection.
Back at the panther {cages : cage : enclosure}, Kwai Chan Caine quietly waited. The guards had
come and gone, never noticing their missing panther. The new addition to
the zoo would most likely not be missed till the morning at the earliest,
but that was not why Caine had remained. He had a promise to keep. No harm
would come to Midnight while he watched, and harm was indeed coming. In
fact, he realized, she had arrived.
Mara was surprised to find herself taking a step back at his words. "You
have no power over me, {priest : Priest}." She bluffed, feeling about mentally for
Senbei's energies.
Midnight shrugged back and Caine sighed. "You have a long road ahead of you
as well, Midnight. You must be strong and loyal, and care for {you : your} mate, for
her tasks will be many and great." Satisfied that the demoness would not
return, Caine headed for the gate leading inside the maintenance section
behind the big cat enclosure. Putting one hand on the lock, he popped it
open with just a push. Midnight followed a step behind him, looking
agitated, and Caine raised an eyebrow. "You are worried for her?"
Midnight nodded emphatically and Caine hesitated only a moment before
stepping aside so that the panther could get by him. They left the zoo's
grounds without difficulty and soon Midnight was slipping quietly across the
city, heading like an arrow towards his mate... or his new master. He
really wasn't sure what their real relationship was, but he did realize that
he was bound to her now, every bit as much or more {then : than} he had been bound to
his old master before her. Caine silently shadowed the panther, making sure
that Midnight's passage was not observed by the few people awake at that
hour of the morning.
Back at the {Apothecary's : apothecary's} shop, Peter Caine had quite a few questions for the
young girl he had just rescued. "What's going on, Miss Mizuno?" {He : he} began.
"The whole story. Why is this... demon after you... and how did you get
cursed to become a panther?"
The {Ancient : ancient} shook his wizened head at the foolishness of youth. "The valley
of Jusenkyo bears a powerful magic... few who wander too close escape the
curse, even those who are aware of it."
< Maybe.> Midnight agreed reluctantly. < But I can help you fight her...
and you'll need all the help you can get if you have to face that demoness.>
Ami hesitated, not wanting to question him, but feeling uncertain of how
much use a single panther, even an {intellegent : intelligent} one, could be against a demon
as powerful as Mara. Midnight {senced : sensed} her confusion and answered Ami's
unspoken question. < Our bond. We both are {stengthened : strengthened} by it. In this
case, the whole really is greater than the sum of it's parts.>
< That's right.> Ami confirmed. < And one for the Earth's moon. She's our
leader, Sailor Moon.> Ami continued to explain about the Senshi to Midnight
as he swiftly raced towards the {apothocary : apothecary}. She split her {concentration : attention}
between talking to Midnight and listening to the old man, Lo Si, who had
offered them a short tour of his shop. There were rooms in the floor above
{an dhe : and he} suggested that everyone might get some rest, seeing that it was
likely to be a busy day the next day. Ami wanted to accept, but Midnight
was getting closer every moment, and she had to figure out what to do about
him. Just as she could feel him arriving just outside the shop, she came up
with an idea.
"Of course!" The {Ancient : ancient} nodded with a smile. "You are welcome tonight.
Please... make yourself... comfortable."
< I'm right across from you.> Midnight's voice came a moment later, and Ami
looked out across the rooftops to see a pair of yellow eyes staring at her
from out of the blackness. Midnight's form was swallowed by the shadows,
and if she hadn't have been able to feel his presence, Ami doubted she'd
have been able to spot him. Ami felt a bit {relieaved : relieved} that at least one of
her worries about the male panther was {reasured : reassured : reduced : assuaged}.
Midnight looked confused. < Why don't you just tell her how we met? I'm
sure she'd understand.>
< Midnight...> Ami's mental voice was uncertain. < My mother doesn't know
that I turn into a panther... or that I'm a Senshi.>
By this time she is likely to suspect.
Midnight nodded in understanding. < You'd just have {prefered : preferred} it to be a
human.> His voice was calm. < I can understand that.> He sounded
thoughtful. < I had never considered mating with a human before today
either.>