She waved good-bye to her friends as she snuck out the back door of Tudo's Okonomiyaki restaurant. Taking a moment, she inhaled deeply the fresh, morning wet air, and the smell of bread baking in the next two restaurants on either side of Tudo's. Grinning, this girl whistled "Yankee Doodle" as she made her way to the front of Tudo's parking lot. Jangling her keys in one hand, she rolled her helmet up her arm and placed it on her head. She jumped atop her ATV and placed the key in the ignition, letting it warm up as she adjusted her helmet and reached in back for her driving gloves. As she did, she noticed that she had left her briefcase outside all night. Still whistling, she dried it off the best she could and locked it down tight. "*Wouldn't want you to get away, now*," she spoke in English to her case, knowing that some hefty treasure laid in there. Flipping over her sign that read "KITSUNE'S ATV TAXI SERVICE", she beeped her horn at Tudo's and flew out of the parking lot.
...Later on that Saturday, she gloated to herself as she counted out the money and the wallets she had snagged. She always dropped off personal belongings such as wallets and purses at the police station anonymously; the uniformed men gave her the willies, not to mention that at her age she should be in school...Anyway. As she pocketed the money and placed her helmet back on, she was suddenly aware of someone staring at her out of the corner of her eye. "Need a ride?" she said loudly, straddling her ATV.
Zoisite cupped his delicate hands on either side of the bowl of tea, watching the swirl of liquid within the confines of the container. The greenish surface rippled as eddies of heated vapor rose up to brush softly against his pale skin, giving it a faint blush of wild roses. All in all, it had been a good day. He'd avoided Nephrite, school was out for the day, and he had nothing to do for a time. Lifting the bowl to his lips, he took a gentle sip of the warm fluid, letting it spread out across his tongue in a relaxing manner. Turning his attention to the female shouting at someone across his street, his almond shaped emerald eyes narrowed faintly. Something about her just didn't feel right... like a cold hand pressed unexpectedly to his spine. Lifting a finger to brush a stray lock of his blondish crimson hair behind one ear, he watched silently for the moment.
Jeremy met the woman's gaze and flexed his gloved hand, generally he didn't use anything but his legs to get around, but after what he had witnessed, perhaps this time should become an exception. He brushed a strand of his brown hair from his scarred face, "It would be appreciated."
That scarred face. Once again, it was him. Zoisite often wondered just how often that one would end up dropping out of nowhere about him. Half of the paranoia he had in him was from Jeremy or his other half, IK. Although he'd never seen the man transform, or even suspected that they were one in the same, Zoisite had enough intelligence to find suspicion in the fact that regardless of what he did for good or ill, that he'd find that scarred face about him somewhere. Shaking his head softly, the sakura's gaze lowered once more to the greenish murky fluid within the warm bowl in his hands.
Jakurin gave the guy a strange look through her tinted visor, then gestured to her back seat. "Jump on, and don't touch anything." ... Soon, the two were riding around the city, and Jakurin finally thought of something to say as she racked up the counter. "So, where ya headed?" she shouted over the motor's din.
Jeremy kept his face focused straight ahead and leaned his back, closing his right eye, the eye that had not been dissected during the torture all those decades before. He spoke evenly, giving the young woman the address, on the far side of Tokyo.
"Something bothering you?" Nephrite asked over Zoi's shoulder. He sat down with a cup of tea in his hand. "You seem a bit, teaser than normal?"
At Nephrite's voice at his shoulder, Zoisite nearly jumped out of his chair, his fingers clutching tighter about the bowl in his hands. Casting the fiery haired king a dark scowl, gesturing to where Jeremy had stood a moment before, "That scarred male... the one who is always in one fight or another... he was here. There's just something about him that doesn't ring true with me. Anyways... what brings you to my company, Neffy-baka?" Even in the face of a more powerful nemesis, Zoisite couldn't resist tugging Nephrite's chain... like a child teasing a fierce dog.
"Alright, then. Hope you don't mind the scenic route," she said, taking a hard right. Soon they were buzzing along at a nice clip, and still the boy and girl had said nothing to each other. 'I've never had a customer this quiet... is he a cop?!' she thought, her mind racing along with the engine. Suddenly, though, the old rusted cage that held her briefcase broke apart, the screws flying off onto the pavement. She gasped, as she saw her prized possession bounced a few times in the street and then roll off into the embankment. "Shimatta!!" she cried, throwing on the brakes and pitching her passenger forward. Grabbing the keys, she nimbly leapt off and hit the ground in a roll down the hill itself. "Stop, stop!" she shouted, landing flat on her stomach in a pile of mud. Now covered she slogged through the muck, her eyes darting around. "*Oh, no no no no noooo!!*" she shouted in English. "WHERE IS IT?!" Meanwhile, her briefcase had rolled under a bush, as she walked right past it. "Where???" she whimpered, taking off her helmet and smacking a hand to her forehead.
Jeremy sighed as he reached under the bush, having followed the driver. He pulled out the briefcase and spoke, evenly, "Perhaps if you calmed down you would be able to find things quicker than running around frustrated." He tossed the briefcase towards her and started back up hill, "Sometimes calm and no emotions can help you better than emotions themselves." He glanced at the vehicle stopped in the middle of street above, *Not the wisest or safest things to do.* He reached up and felt at the small lump that had formed on his head, *Pain of taxi service.*
Jakurin had turned just in time to catch her case full in the chest. Coughing angrily, she scrambled back up the bank. "*Well, excuse me for caring about something other than customers,*" she said sweetly in English, not caring if the guy understood or not. In Japanese she smirked and said, "You DON'T understand. What you might see here is a taxi-driver covered in mud... okay, that's EXACTLY what you see but in reality, I!" she puffed out her chest with pride. "I am an accomplished writer, and my newest book is on the Sailor Soldiers that have infiltrated the city! What do you think about _that_, huh?" she said, grinning and shaking her briefcase in his face.
Jeremy shook his head, "*Your English is quite good, and I don't blame you for caring about it...*" He turned back to the native tongue of Japan, "Yet nothing is worth more than one's life or those of anyone else. Your stop could have endangered other drivers." He climbed back into his seat and leaned his head back, *Just great. A writer out to soil the Senshi. So be it.*
"*English...* You know English," she said slowly, amazed. "But your accent's..." She gave him a small smile as she re-fastened the case in the other cage, and for added measure gave it a good kick. Glancing at him, she put her foot up on the driver's seat and leaned forward. "Alright, I give. What's your name, and what's the occupation? I don't cater to publishers; the scrapbook's all mine. Mine, y'hear! And where did you pick up your English?" she added, leaning in closer.
Nephrite laughed. "Oh now why can't I just have a nice cup of tea with my little brother?" he asked sarcastically. "Actually I came to see how you were doing with your new mission from Beryl."
Jeremy opened his single eye and sized up the young driver. He collected his thoughts for a few moments, deciding how best to go about it. He had spent a millennia wandering the planet after the fall of the Moon Kingdom, he had picked up more that just the English language during that time. His English though was nearly flawless for the decades he lived in the United States, and his Japanese. *Gotta remember to force an accent into my English.* Finally he spoke, evenly, "My name is Jeremy. As for my occupation I am simply a high school student who had very wealthy parents who passed on. Before they died though we traveled the world and when we traveled they spared no expense at getting tutors to perfect the language of countries, I just picked onto English very well."
Jakurin cocked an eye at him again, and slotted the rest of the wet dirt off her face. "Well, now, you must be pretty freakin' rich yourself, ne?" she said, placing her helmet back on and winking. "Never mind. Must be on the 'QT'," she said, re-straddling the ATV again and starting off with a spurt and a bang.
Finally reaching the destination, she grinned and shut off the bike. "That'll be about 48.75," she said, offering her gloved hand out. "And I do take credit cards," flashing an even wider grin as she took off the helmet.
At being called Nephrite's little brother, Zoisite bristled. Little in this world was worse than being called any sort of blood relation to the man. Keeping a calm, even tone of a whispering voice, he shrugged, "Beryl-hime seems to be busy as of late, not holding court and all like she usually does. Maybe she's off communing with the Demon Queen or something. Local rumor has it that Kunzite had returned from whatever missions he was conducting in the Far Reaches, but I haven't seen him. I don't think I'd want to see him given his temperament. I've heard that he's worse than all of us combined. Last that Beryl-hime told me, I was supposed to be... learning... from you as well as helping you gather energy and destroy the Senshi." Draining the last of the warm fluid in the bowl, Zoisite rose from his seat, tossing a few yen on the table to cover the tab. "Speaking of which, it's time for me to get started. I've got a new sort of youma that I've been waiting to try out. Do have a nice day, Nephrite-sama..." he added with a smile, one that spoke of Zoisite's idea of a nice day being how many pieces he could carve the star king into while the man was still alive. Moving away, he vanished as soon as he was out of sight of mortals. Reappearing near the airport, he hummed softly to himself. At his side appeared a mistlike creature, its form hidden within the fog that surrounded it. With a glance over his shoulder at the youma, a malicious grin crossed Zoisite's pale lips. "Wasuremono... I want you to go there," he murmured as he pointed to the airport itself, specifically the comm. tower. "Once there, start spreading your forgetfulness dust. I'm curious as to how many of those planes we can make crash and then collect the energy from the terror of those left." With a nod and a bow, the creature vanished, only to reemerge at the tower. Moving through the walls as if they were nothing, the mists encompassing its form began to move off and towards the operators, confusing them as one of the pilots in the air was told to land on strip three...which unfortunately already had another plane sitting on it that was readying for take off. Perched atop his nearly hangar, Zoisite began to giggle, releasing one of his energy crystals to begin collections.
Jeremy didn't return the smile, it had been decades since he had smiled. In fact the last time he had smiled had been before the fiend known as Ithil had tortured not only his mind, but his soul. He pulled out his wallet and removed four twenties and handed them to the driver, "You have my thanks." He turned and started away, it was money, something he had accumulated a lot of inadvertently through the centuries.
Jakurin whistled. "Eighty bucks!? Wow, and here I thought you had a crush on me," she said sarcastically. "Don't get me wrong, this will feed me for quite awhile..." He was farther away, but Jakurin gave his back a long look and called out, "*YO!*... Look, I... I'm sorry I 'endangered' you. Maybe I should invest in a new cage, ne? Gomen nasai... and thanks for getting my case back!" At that moment they were both startled by a loud BOOM! Jakurin swiveled her head around. "*Holy cow!*" she exclaimed. "What was that? It sounded so close- !!" Jakurin glanced down the hillsides to see smoke rising from a gray patch on the landscape. "Airport," she whispered. "A plane crash..." She glanced back to see what her customer might do, but he was gone from sight. Perplexed, Jakurin turned her ATV to the left and said, "Well, maybe I can snag some pictures and sell them to the papers." With that, she headed towards the airport.
Resting on the edge of weather fencing surrounding the edge of the airstrip itself, Zoisite lifted a delicate hand to cover a yawn. Luckily perhaps for the mortals, the only plane that had gone down so far was a little Piper... and he could see the two people that had been trapped in that tin can scrambling away already. Watching the crystal revolve slowly before him, the screams of terror and the wail of fire engines seemed far off and removed. This was all too public for him in one manner. The sakura preferred sneak and hit attacks... had Nephrite been there, he might have been either alarmed or curious as to what would cause a break in habit in someone like Zoisite. Perhaps he'd finally gone over the edge and lost what little sanity he claimed to have. Turning his eyes to the skies above, a faint smile touched his rosebud lips, full of malice and dark joy. A 747 was coming in for approach.
Nephrite smiled. "At least he's learning. A new youma... hum...this I'd like to see." he thought. He transformed into normal attire and teleported himself to a place where he could watch Zoisite at work. "Very interesting indeed."
Jeremy had departed as soon as the explosion had reached his ears. He moved swiftly to the fence and watched the burning wreckage and glanced around, *Hmmm, now I wonder where the source of this is?*
Zoisite folded his arms across his chest as he offered the Imperium Knight a faint smile from his perch on the fencing. Off to his left, the darkness of the portal continued to revolve in time with the energy crystal that was filling up. "Such a wonderful afternoon. Makes one wonder just why anyone would want to fly... or crash, ne?" Nephrite remained unseen or just unnoticed by the sakura as he tilted his head towards IK. Softly humming to himself, Zoisite seemed as if he were out on a lark instead of about to kill a 747 loaded down with passengers.
Jakurin deftly leapt off her rider and dislodged the case from its cage. Dodging and twirling around people who were running to the air field for a peek, she opened the case and yanked out a camera and a scrapbook. Racing into the building, she snuck past security who was trying to keep the peace. 'Now where can I... the roof! That's a nice spot.' Charging up the stairs full blast, Jakurin kicked open the door and grinned. "This picture of a small plane on fire will cover food bills for a week!" she crowed, beginning to snap here, snap there. A local plane was heard from afar, as Jakurin swung around on to shoot the jet in the sky. As she peeked through her view-finder, she blinked, then looked over it, then blinked again. Yup. Some guy with a supreme sense of balance was standing on the airstrip's 30 foot high fence, complete with the wiring. "What the... that kid's crazy!" she said slowly, beginning to get closer to the edge of the roof. With ease, she picked out her Polaroid's and shoved them into the briefcase as she began to snap pictures of the menace on the fence.
Guardian focused his eyes on the sakura, his emotionless voice carrying evenly, "I should have figured one of Beryl's fools would be responsible."
Arching a brow, Zoisite merely looked boredly towards him, the portal off to the king's right. "And what brings you here?"
"To stop you from what you're doing," he answered calmly.
Meanwhile Jakurin was taking shot after shot after shot of the now two precariously balanced men on the fence. "Mama pajama," she said, blinking, stuffing the instant photos in her briefcase. "Hey, if they're so good, why don't I ask them how they got up there?" said Jakurin to herself, pulling out a notepad. Going to the edge of the room, she whistled and shouted, "Hey! YO! You two! Over here!!"
A faint smile consumed Zoisite's face. "To stop me from what I'm doing... interesting theory. Here's the deal as they say." Extending a slim hand, a fan of cards spread above them, each bearing the ensignia of one of the airlines that frequented the airport. "You," he spoke softly in his usually lilting tones, "Will surrender whatever gives you your power or I'll..." A malicious grin took over as the cards fluttered down from his fingers to crash onto the tarmac below, each one catching fire. "The choice is yours, of course." Behind them, the incoming roar of the 747 grew louder, seeming to fill the world, cutting off the sound of Jakurin's voice.
Guardian kept his gaze calm and steady, "True strength and power comes from within. There is no way to give you the source then."
Jakurin turned and shrieked as a very low flying 747 dipped and then flew upwards again. Her hair billowing around, she raised her bangs from her face to see the plane approach the sky again. "What the heck is going on?!" she said, squinting into the sky. Her breifcase skidded along only to hit the wall where three doors were clearly marked. Tower Exit. Roof Exit. Elevator Exit. "Maybe if I snag an operator on his break, I can come up with something," she said slowly, disappointed. Although the men on the fence had not heard her, she wouldn't let that keep her down. Joggling the rusty handle, she pulled open the Tower Exit and made her way up two more flights of stairs before entering the small hallway filled with glass and computers. Peeking in the windows, though, Jakurin gasped. Three operators were on the floor, as though asleep while another laid slumped in his chair. Captains were calling in, with no response from the quartet. "HEY!" yelled Jakurin. She yelled again, banging on the plexi-glass windows and getting no response. Taking her briefcase, she began banging loudly on the door, until finally someone... or rather something opened it. "Can I help you," rasped a blue... void. Jakurin froze... "Ano... I was just looking for the ladies' room." "Oh. Down the hall, three flights, first door on the fourth level on your left." The form 'shut' the door in Jakurin's face. Jakurin blinked, then banged on the door again. "Yesssss?" 'it' said, 'opening' the door. "Ano, forgive the question," laughed Jakurin, putting up a V-sign, "but I couldn't help noticing that you're a blue form-less mass." "....Sssso?" "... Soooo, how are you opening the door?" The mass swirled around a bit, as though contemplating the question. "... Creative lisssscenssse??" it guessed. "Hey, works for me. Anything can happen in anime, right?" "Hai, I sssuppossse sssso." And the thing 'shut' the door again. Jakurin blinked. Then, she pulled her camera off her neck and banged on the door again. "What," it hissed for the third 'opening'. "Smile!" grinned Jakurin, flashing the light bulb. The 'fog' dissipated around the higher portions of the room, as though reeling from blindness. Jakurin, however, rushed inside and grabbed the nearest headset and pushing buttons, levers, anything. "This is your temporary emergency operator or something! GET LOST! I repeat! *GET LOST!* Do NOT land on this localized air-strip, get a life at Nerima Airport! *911!* *MAYDAY, MAYDAY, THIS PLACE IS SCREWY!!* *DO NOT LAND HERE!* DO NOT LAND HERE!!!" Captains adjusted their controls and such like, thinking it another drill issued by the government. Jakurin heaved a sigh of relief, until she turned to face a literal fog, who 'looked' none too pleased. "... *Hello, welcome to United! Come fly the friendly skies!*" she smirked, holding up another headset. There was a tremendous crunch as suddenly Jakurin was nimbly thrown up against the 'supposed unbreakable glass'. With a groan, the fog threw her around into chairs, and the glass over and over, until Jakurin felt very much like a rag doll. There was a sudden howling, as the fog monster 'removed' a piece of the plexi-glass. Tossing the camera to the eight stories below, followed by the briefcase, it nudged Jakurin outside. Awakened by the sense of NEAR DEATH, Jakurin shirked as she did a quick spin and smashed her hands down on the edges. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, KILL ME?!" she screamed. "That'ssss the general idea, yessss," said the monster, who 'placed' some of 'itself' on Jakurin's hands. The fingers began to get numb. "HELP!" screamed Jakurin, hoping to wake an operator. "POOR, INNOCENT TEEN HANGING OUT THE WINDOW!! TASUKETEEEE!!!!!"
Guardian's eyes focused off of the young man on the fence as he assessed the area, his glaze leveled on the control tower and the individual hanging there. He turned to the General and spoke calmly, "It looks as if you forgot to factor in the spirit and will of a normal human's resolve to help their fellow man." With that he launched himself over the fence and towards the control tower, ignoring the General for the moment.
Jakurin screamed, "I'm too young to die! And too beautiful! And too privileged!! WAAAAAH!!!" Finally, the non-plussed apparition numbed Jakurin's fingers enough to pick her up and throw her off. "GOODBYE, TOKYO! AAAAAAAAAH!!!" she screamed, putting her hands over her eyes as she plummeted.
Nephrite watched the 747 with a laugh. "Very clever..very clever indeed. He's learning faster than I thought." he muttered with a smile.
Guardian moved, quick as possible, straight for the control tower. His legs pushed as he leapt forward, extending his arms, hoping to make the catch in time.
As Jakurin felt another solid smash against her skin and bones, she shouted, "I'M DEAD!" The two bodies rolled as they hit the ground, Jakurin 'super-deformed crying' all the way. "Oh, momma, I've hit the pavement! I'm dead! Help me out, I don't wanna be dead! There's no future in it!... Hey, how can I be dead if I'm still talking???" With that, she casually opened one eye, and saw a clean-cut man, breathing hard from the rescue. Opening the other eye, they both widened, as she realized that this man... whomever he was, risked his life. "... Thank you..." she said, softly and wide-eyed.
Zoisite grinned, flipping the energy crystals over in his hand. The youma had done its work. They could kill or heal it for all he cared. Nodding to the creature, he pointed to the two, letting it start it's deadly charge towards them. The mists flowing off of the creature tended to bring about forgetfulness... Wasuremono was Japanese for 'forgotten thing' after all. Perhaps only his fellow kings or the few who knew him could appreciate the sakura's sense of irony in naming his youma. Now, not only did he have a chance at a clean getaway, but he had three new energy collection crystals to deliver to Beryl-hime or Nephrite. He could have actually liked the star king if he weren't so nasty to him all the time, teasing him about his girlish looks and his preference in partners. Sighing faintly, he dropped the small objects into his inner pocket and returned his attention to the minibattle at hand.
Nephrite teleported beside Zoisite with a smile. "Very good, for once." he said. "Go ahead and take your precious gems to Queen Beryl..I think she deserves to know who takes the credit this time. I'd like to have a bit of fun with your new toy." he said with a laugh.
Blinking up at Nephrite, Zoisite paused in his initial cringe from the man. Warily settling alongside the fiery haired king, Zoisite folded one lithe leg over the other. "I think I'll wait... perhaps see a master at work?" he inquired in tones of a one expecting to be snapped at, still cautious as to why the other was being so nice.
Guardian sat the young girl down on the ground and pulled his hood up over his masked face. He turned to watch the mist flowing in and shook his head, *Never a day of rest for the defenders.*
Jakurin balked at the now form-full mass of blue. Scrambling to her feet, she cried, "Get away from that thing! It'll numb you!!" The mist shimmyied away to reveal a slightly feminine-looking blue monster with long legs, blue skin, and white hair, wearing only a light blue cloud for a dress. However, the voice that came from it was a base. "I will finissssssh you both for interfering with our planssss!!" "'Our plans'???" repeated a confused Jakurin, straightening out her jacket and dusting off her polyester pants. "Who's the other guy involved?" "None of your buisssnesssss!" Jakurin smirked. "Was it ever?" she challenged, taking somewhat of a defiant stance towards the monster. "What I wanna know is what the heck you are, and who do you think you are; trying to blow up planes and knocking people out of windows is a no-no here in Tokyo." The monster's reply was to snarl and blow a blast of fog at Jakurin. She gasped and threw up her arms over her face. An unseen wind picked her up, however, and threw her against the wall. She cried out as the door dented a bit around her, and sank to her knees and hands. "Ow," she mumbled.
Nephrite stopped and looked over at the youma. "He seems to have found a new prey." he muttered with a smile. "Youma, steal her energy and destroy her!" he cried.
Guardian simply stood admist the fog, steeling his body to the cold, focusing his mind...letting the fog force him to forget details that for the moment were irrelevant. He brought his blade up and in front of his face, barely whispering, "Imperium Spirit Cut." The katana glew blue as he swung it at the humanoid formed portion of the youma.
The youma shrieked, just barely dodging in time and then splitting into two smaller clouds. One of the clouds surrounded Guardian (to do with that half as you will) while the other obeyed Nephrite and headed over to the stumbling Kitsune. Jakurin rubbed her left arm rigorously. "Man! No one can take a joke around here, can they?" she griped, looking up through her pink bangs. She gasped as the cloud formed a set of four arms and slammed her yet again into the wall, only this time with a choke hold on her neck and wrists. "*Well... I love you too...*" cracked Jakurin in English, trying to pry away the monster's cold and clammy fingers. It hissed, "It iss ussselesssss to resssissst." "*Kami... another... Borg wanna-be??*" "Give me your energy, foolissh human!" it growled, as Jakurin glared back it. "Get your hands... off me! I don't want to be a skin-colored *smurf* like you, okay?!" One of the hands loosened around Jakurin's left wrist and fondled her neck. "Pretty sstone," it hissed. "It's mine! The only thing that is mine. I didn't steal it!!" "Well, it'sss mine now," grinned the monster, breaking off the chain. "Like heck it is, ugly!!" growled Jakurin, suddenly very angry. "GIVE IT BACK!!" With this shout, a sign glowed on Jakurin's forehead. Pure white, it was the sign of a comet.