Minako yawned, strolling idly through Tokyo Park.
It was a dreary Saturday afternoon, and she had
completed all of her chores and homework. Dunican
hadn't answered the phone, so she had decided to take
a walk. Unfortunately it had started to drizzle, so
now Minako was making her way back home, deciding that
the day had been a wasted one.
"So is that her?" asked a young man in a
trenchcoat.
"Yup. That’s her. She's cute," said other man that
was much bigger.
"Are the others ready?" said a female behind them.
"Yup," said the man in the trench coat.
"Good. Her boyfriend will pay for what he did to
me and when the time comes he will get his," she said
with a wicked smile on her face.
Sighing, Minako stopped under a tree as the rain
began to fall harder. "Great, and me without my
umbrella..." she said to herself, leaning against its
trunk, waiting for the rain to die down again.
Leaves slowly started to fall around Minako.
Suddenly a man in black fell in front of Minako.
"Hello there," he said with a grin and the grabbed her
by the collar and then threw her into the middle of
the clearing. Suddenly six more guys appeared around
Minako.
Minako looked stunned for a few moments, looking
around at her attackers. She quickly jumped back to
her feet, realizing that the guys were from that gang
after Dunican. She took a fighting stance, glancing
around. One of them charged from behind, but was
quickly grounded with a quick roundhouse kick. Minako
smirked a bit, figuring she'd be able to take some
guys down with her. "Come on! You want me, come and
get me!"
The gang member that threw Minako laughed. "You are
out numbered. But if you think you can take us on,
then OK," he said as the other members took out
weapons from small knifes to a bat. One of them even
held a stun gun.
"Get her!" A woman with a knife charged Minako.
Minako jumped back startled, figuring she should
have known they had weapons. *Out-numbered and
unarmed...* she thought bitterly, kicking the knife
out of the woman's hand. Her hand instinctively went
into her pocket, but she told her self she couldn’t
transform in front of all these people. "Shit...."
she muttered, deciding she might as well take down a
few with her. Glaring around, she tried to guard her
own back, waiting for another attack.
Suddenly three members attacked at the same time.
One of them came up behind Minako and took her into a
headlock. Another came up to Minako and punched
Minako in the stomach 3 times. He the grabbed Minako
by the chin and slapped her.
Minako groaned, having the wind knocked out of her.
Quickly she elbowed her captor in the stomach,
loosening his hold. She then flipped him over her
shoulder, knocking the other guy down in the process.
Wiping the small trickle of blood from her mouth,
Minako tried to hold her fighting stance, but wrapped
her arms around her stomach painfully, falling to one
knee.
Before any of the attackers could attack a voice
rang out in the clearing. "Hold it!" said a female
voice. Red Claw walked into the clearing, a smile on
her face. She walked over to Minako and took her
right hand and titled Minako head up. "So pretty.
Such lovely hair," she said as she ran a hand through
it. Then grabbed it and pulled hard. "You took
Dunican away from me!" she snapped.
Minako's eyes grew wide, and she grabbed Red Claw's
arm, digging her nails into it. "OW! Let go! I
didn't take Dunican away from you!" she yelled between
clenched teeth.
Red Claw let go of Minako's hair and then back
slapped her across the face. "You little bitch. I
have been after Dunican and then you come into his
life and he leaves me in the dark," she snapped and
slapped her again.
Minako caught Red Claw's arm as she went for a
third, quickly twisting around her back and holding
her there. She struggled greatly, mainly because her
side throbbed with pain. Minako tried to speak, but
she already was using all of her energy.
Red Claw clenched her teeth. *This one is strong.*
Using her free arm she elbowed Minako in the head and
then threw her with an arm throw. "Very good. You are
the second person to ever get me into a hold," she
said and nodded.
Suddenly the member with the stun guy jumped over
to Minako and zapped her.
Before Minako could get back up, she was hit with
the dart from the gun in the neck. She pulled it out
quickly, but the medication was all ready surging
through her system. Her head swimming, Minako did her
best to stay awake, but with in a few moments she was
out cold.
Red Claw turned around and looked at Minako. "Don't
even go near her," she snapped at some of her men.
"Show some respect or I will make you wish you were
never men to begin with," she said and looked at her
second in command.
"Take her back to the hideout and put her in my
room and let no one in," she said. "I am going to
Dunican's," she said walked towards his place.
In a few minutes Red Claw reached Dunican's
apartment. First she thought of a surprise entrance
through a window or something, but she knew that
wouldn't win him over. Smirking, she knocked on
Dunican's door. When it opened, Red Claw smiled at
her target. "Hey Dunican... long time no see," she
said sweetly.
Dunican's glared at her. "What do you want Red
Claw?" he asked. "Suddenly you decide to come by after
six months?" he said and turned around.
Red Claw quickly jumped into the apartment, also
managing to get in front of him. "I had other
important business to attend to... why? Did you miss
me?" she said, smiling devilishly.
Dunican shook his head. "No I didn't miss you," he
said and crossed his arms. "There has to be a reason
you are here," he said glaring at her again.
Red Claw smirked, placing her hand on her hips.
"I'm not sure you want to know, I think you would be
pretty upset if you found out what trash I picked up
off the street," she said. "And I don't want to start
off on the wrong foot again..."
Dunican looked at Red Claw again and wondered what
she was talking about. "Every time you see me you are
always asking for something or needing me to do your
dirty work," he said and looked at her again.
Red Claw shrugged, turning her back. "All right,
you don't have to listen to me... you can go and crawl
back to your bomb-shell blonde girlfriend... though
I'm not sure she'll be there when you call..." she
said almost sympathetically, starting towards the
door.
"WHAT!" shouted Dunican as he stepped in front of
Red Claw. "What did you do to Minako?" he asked.
Grabbing Red Claw by the shoulders, he threw her to
the ground. "If you hurt her I will take you and your
whole gang out!" he snapped.
Red Claw quickly got up, glaring slightly at
Dunican. "Well I can't say she isn't hurt... I think
I heard a rib crack or something... but she'll
live..." she said, enjoying herself, "if you'll give
me what I want..."
Dunican watched Red Claw carefully. "And what would
that be?" he asked.
"Well...you," Red Claw answered simply, her eyes
widening a little at the thought of victory.
Dunican shook his head. "Why me? What do you want
from me so badly?" he asked.
"Well, you were my most reliable person, before you
deserted me..." Red Claw said, stepping forward
towards Dunican. "And you can't get good help these
days. Besides, who wouldn't want you?" she added,
running her hands up his chest.
A small smile appeared on Dunican's face. "I don't
believe this," he said. "You used me all those times
and you want me in the worst way possible that you
would go after my girlfriend," he said. His voice
angry.
Red Claw frowned a bit, stepping back. "I think
your head is clouded with your rage... I'll give you
the night to think it over... But if I don't hear from
you by tomorrow night... You know where to find me,"
she said, winking, and vanishing out the window.
Dunican looked at the last place where Red Claw was
at. "Minako..." he said and went over to this dresser
and picked up a picture of Minako and himself in one
of those photo booths. Picking up his crystal, he
held it tightly. "I will get you back Minako. I swear
it," he said and went out the door.
AT the hideout:
The second in command dropped Minako on the bed of
Red Claw's room and left, leaving her there.
Minako slowly opened her eyes a few minutes later,
sitting up. Her head throbbed painfully, and her left
side ached. Holding her head in her hands, she
groaned. *Ow...* Minako thought, getting up slowly.
Searching the room for any exits of any kind, worry
crept up inside of her. She knew that if Dunican
found out about this he'd come and get her... but
could he really take on a whole mob by himself?
Red Claw came through the door a few minutes later.
"Well that was fun. I have Dunican's full attention
now," she said with a grin. "He is such a man.
Coming to save you and all," she said.
Minako glared at Red Claw, tightening her fists.
But she kept her mouth shut, and continued to look
around the room. She had to get out of there now, to
stop Dunican from risking himself to save her.
"I can see the look on your face that you don't
like me talking about him like that," she said and
looked at Minako in the face. "But you also won't be
able to escape from this room. You see when Dunican
gets here I will make him a deal. He becomes my slave
for your safety and well being. But if he refuses
then I will do away with you and I know he won't have
you hurt anyway," she said with a devilish grin.
Minako eye's widened a bit. She wanted to strangle
that bitch, make her hate the day she said those
words... but she knew Red Claw had the upper hand.
There was nothing much she could do now. She needed a
plan. A small smirk appeared on her face, "I don't
think Dunican would give into those terms..." Minako
said, having no idea why she was saying that.
Red Claw stared at Minako. "You really think so?"
she asked. "You know what," said Red Claw as she got
up and grabbed a razor from dresser and grabbed Minako
by the hair. "How would you like me to shave all your
lovely hair off?" she said with a wild grin.
Minako yelped, staying extremely still. The only
thing worse then getting beat around would be losing
all of her hair. "You wouldn't dare do it..." she
growled, hoping her bluff would work.
Red Claw smiled. Placing the knife back onto the
dresser. "Just because you think I am the leader of a
gang doesn't mean I can't act like a girl once in
awhile," she said and got up from the bed.
Minako ran her hands through her hair, relieved
that it wasn't gone. She leaned against one of the
dressers, crossing her arms. She didn't want to have
anything more to do with Red Claw. Minako's mind
returned to forming some sort of plan, but her thought
was mushy because her left side started to hurt more
and more...
"Oh and anything. Don't think of trying to escape.
All my men are standing guard at all the entry points
and exits," said Red Claw with a smile. "Here you may
need this," She threw a first aid kit to Minako.
"Take care," said Red Claw and she was gone.
Minako caught the first aid kit, glaring after Red
Claw. Sighing, she prayed that Dunican had thought of
something, because obviously she wasn't going to get
anywhere. Tentatively Minako began dressing her
wounds, using the limited supplies from the kit.
Dunican slowly walked through the ally ways as
quietly as possible. He didn't want to alert Red
Claw's gang in fear that they my do something to
Minako. Slowly he made it way to the old mansion that
was in outskirts of Tokyo.
Red Claw paced through out the large dinning room,
obviously in deep thought. The walls were covered
with all sorts of beautiful paintings, probably stolen
too. A rather lanky guy came into the room, gasping
for air.
"Red Claw... he's been spotted coming our way... Do
you want us to capture him?" the messenger asked. Red
Claw watched him for a second, pondering. "No, let
him come on his own..." she said, glancing out the
window, "We have no need for any bloodshed at the
moment..."
Dunican walked over to the guards that were outside
the door. They stopped him and looked him over.
"What do you want?" asked one of the guards.
"Red Claw is waiting for me," said Dunican. The
other nodded and they let Dunican pass. Walking into
the mansion he made his way to the dining room.
Red Claw smiled devilishly when Dunican entered the
room. Almost instantly two large thugs were on him,
carrying him rather roughly over to Red Claw. They
held him there, restraining his arms. "Dunican! I
didn't expect you so soon! Sorry about this..." she
said, nodding towards her two guys, "But I need to
ensure that I get what I want..."
Dunican looked at her. "Like always. You haven't
changed Red Claw," he said and looked around the room.
"Where is Minako?" he asked.
Red Claw crossed her arms, a small pout on her
face. "Is that all you think about?" she asked,
throwing her hands up in the air and turning back
towards the window. But then she chuckled, glancing
over her shoulder with a wide grin on her face.
"Well, I took I upon myself to take away one of the
options in our deal... Now you don't have a choice..."
Red Claw lied.
Dunican looked down to the ground. *She's lying she
has to be. I can feel Minako somewhere in this
mansion. She's not dead.* He thought and then decided
to go all out. Bending down he used all his strength
and the throw the two thugs’ back. Both crashed into
the wall. "I will kill you for taking her away from
me," he said and took out his crystal and transformed
into Venus Knight in front of Red Claw.
Red Claw's eyes widened as Dunican transformed.
She'd heard of the Senshi and Knights, but she never
thought he'd be one. *And I can't take on a Knight
alone...* she thought miserably. "Guards!" Red Claw
screamed. Instantly a score of men entered the room,
all carrying guns.
They began to randomly fire while Red Claw took off
towards her room, where Minako was.
Dunican did three back flips. Landing on the long
dinning room table he caused it to fall on its side as
the bullets made contact with it.
*Damn! They all have guns.* he thought and looked
around. A fire was blazing in the fireplace. An idea
came to Dunican as he grabbed the end of a log that
was only half on fire and threw it over the table. It
made contact with the carpet and a fire started to
spread.
Pandemonium struck, and almost the whole entire
gang scattered. The gun shots stopped immediately as
scared men flew around the room. The few that kept
their cool tried desperately to calm the others, but
no one listened to them. Slowly the fire started to
creep towards the hallway leading to Red Claw's room.
Meanwhile, Red Claw had just reached the door.
Almost breaking it down, she stormed into the room,
taking Minako very much by surprise.
"Don't tell me you're one too..." Red Claw growled,
reaching for that razor she had earlier.
"One of what?..." Minako answered, realizing soon
after that Dunican must have transformed.
Getting up, Dunican flipped back over the table and
jumped through the fire that he started. Some gunfire
went off towards him but missed. Doing a hand flip he
grabbed a gun off the floor and went towards the room
Red Claw went to.
Red Claw glared at Minako. "You know what I mean.
You are one of those Sailor Senshi," she snapped and
open the razor.
Minako gulped, quickly rolling over to the other
side of the bed, which caused her a sufficient amount
of pain. "Fine, you wanna know? Well I'll...
show…you..." she trailed off, digging her hand in her
pocket. "Shit, where is it?" she mumbled, packing all
of the pockets on her body. Unfortunately, Minako's
henshin pen had fallen out of her pocket when those
thugs attacked her. Looking up at Red Claw, she
backed all the way against the wall on the other side.
"Uhhh... Dunican!" she screamed, hoping he was with
in hearing range.
"Minako!" yelled Dunican as he jumped kicked a thug
in the back of the head and back to his feet. Running
into Red Claw's room, Dunican produced the gun and
pointed it at Red Claw. But Red Claw was quick to
take out two guns of her own. One was pointing at
Dunican and the other at Minako.
A grin formed on Red Claw's face. "Look what we
have here," she said and looked at the two. "So what
will it be? Should I take you both down at the same
time or one at a time," she said and looked over to
Dunican and his weapon. "My Dunican. That is a first
I have seen you with a gun," she said.
Minako gasped, staring at the gun for a few
moments. She then looked up at Dunican, worry all
over her face. He was so close, only across the room,
but so far away at the same time. Taking a deep
breath, Minako winced a bit at her soreness. Quickly,
while Red Claw had her attention turned to Dunican,
she vaulted herself off the bed, flying towards Red
Claw.
Dunican could see Minako in the corner of his eye.
Taking aim he fired the gun and the bullet knocked the
gun that was aimed at Minako out of Red Claw's hand.
Then with a burst of speed he charged Red Claw.
The force of the gun leaving Red Claw's handmade
her looked towards Dunican. "If I can't have him no
one will!" snapped Red Claw as she fired three shots
at Dunican. Two of the bullets missed but the other
made contact with his left shoulder. But with the
amount of speed Dunican was at, he rammed into Red
Claw and knocked her into the ground causing her to
lose her gun.
Minako blinked, missing Red Claw as Dunican knocked
her to the ground. She quickly rolled onto the
ground, jumping up to her feet. Meanwhile, Red Claw
groped about for her gun, but came in contact with the
razor instead. Quickly she brought it to Dunican's
neck, grinning wildly.
"See you in hell!" she spat, only to be stopped by
a bullet whizzing by her ear.
"Drop the blade," Minako said, her voice cold and
hateful. She stood with Red Claw's gun aimed at her
head, glaring at her target.
Red Claw threw the blade away. "So I guess I lost,"
she said and looked at Dunican.
Dunican lifted his right arm and then whispered,
"Blades Deploy." Two arched blades came out of their
hiding place. They shined in the light of the room.
He then threw back his arm and punched the floor right
next to Red Claw's head.
Minako kneeled by Dunican's side, dropping the gun
on the floor. "Dunican... are you ok?" she asked,
noticing his blood soaked shoulder.
Dunican was in pain and it showed. He had his left
eye closed and his teeth were clutched. "I am ok. But
how are you doing?" he asked.
Red Claw didn't move. Her eyes looked at the
blades. She could tell they were sharp to the touch.
"Better than you obviously..." Minako said, placing
her hand on his good shoulder. There was a sudden
crackling sound outside to room. Minako glanced over
her shoulder to see the flames licking the doorframe.
"Oh shit... we need to get out of here now..."
Dunican looked over his shoulder and looked at the
fire. He looked back at Red Claw. "Blades Retract,"
he said and the blades went back into their home.
"If I ever catch you going after Minako or myself
again I will make sure you never see the light of
day," he said to Red Claw with venom in each word.
Red Claw got up and went out the back and into the
night.
Dunican got up, holding his left shoulder. "Come
on," he said and started out the way Red Claw went.
Minako stood watching the fire spread across the
ceiling for a few moments before following Dunican.
She almost reached him when a large beam fell from the
ceiling, separating them. It was instantly engulfed
in flames, along with almost the rest of the room.
"Dunican!" she called, looking around frantically for
a way out.
Dunican turned around and didn't find Minako behind
him. "No!" he said and looked around for a way in.
He found a window and with all his power he jumped
through the window to the room where Minako was in.
Minako bounded over to Dunican, throwing her arms
around him.
"OhmygodIthoughtIwasgoingtoburninthisplacecauseyouweren'thereandIwasscaredand.
... and...." she said very quickly, hyperventilating
at the end. Obviously the fire had a greater effect
on her then the situation with Red Claw. Looking up
at Dunican, her eyes full of tears because they burned
so bad.
"Don't worry Minako I will get you out," he said.
His shoulder was not getting better since Minako was
hugging him so tightly. Dunican then picked Minako up
into his arms and looked out the window. He could see
a dumpster. He then jumped and landed into the
dumpster on his back and Minako on top off him so she
wouldn't suffer anymore harm.
Minako clanged to Dunican the whole way down, her
eyes squeezed shut. It took her several moments after
they landed to realize she was on top of him. Quickly
rolling off Minako helped him sit up feeling really
bad for freaking out up there. "I'm sorry for
dragging you all through this... you probably
shouldn't have come..." she said, regretting his whole
rescue.
Dunican kissed her softly. "You know I wouldn't
just stand by and do nothing. You mean the world to
me Minako," he said and smiled to her. "And I know
you would have done the same if our positions were
reversed."
Minako smiled faintly, standing up. "Yeah... but
you're hurt, and it's my fault..." she said, brushing
herself off. "Now let's get out of this dumpster and
get you to a hospital..." she added, offering her hand
to help Dunican.
Dunican took Minako's hand. "Don't blame yourself
for what happened to me," he said as they started to
walk away from the mansion and the sound of fire
trucks could be heard. "If I had to do it again I
would take a bullet for you any day," he said.
Minako giggled a little, glaring at him playfully.
"That's exactly the problem Dunican. Why, if I
was...." There was sudden bang, and Minako fell to her
knees, clutching her left side. She started gasping
for air, leaning on her other free hand, squeezing her
eyes shut again. Blood started to seep through her
fingers, spreading over her shirt.
Red Claw stood ten feet behind them, her hair all
matted and sticking up, her clothes burnt around the
edges. Her eyes were wild with delight, her large
grin reflecting. She cackled devilishly, relaxing her
gun for the moment.
Dunican watched as Minako fell to her knees.
Dunican's expression went one from pure worry to
red-hot anger. Turning he lifted his right arm and he
mentally deployed his blades. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" he
screamed as he charged Red Claw.
Gripping the gun once again she started to fire.
Bullets bounced off Dunican's arm mount that housed
his blades. A clicking sound was heard next. Looking
at her gun Red Claw noticed the gun was empty.
Looking up at Dunican she screamed. "NO!"
The next sound that was heard sounded very
unpleasant. Dunican stood right in front of Red Claw,
right hand into her stomach. But there was nothing
else that was in her, or through her.
Minako eye's flickered at Red Claw's last word.
She glanced over her shoulder, smirking slightly at
her impaled foe. Minako's arm then collapsed from
under her, and she fell of her side, her breathing
becoming more shallow. Her body seemed to sigh,
relaxing. Slowly her eyes closed, her breath escaping
her.
Dunican removed his blades from a lifeless Red Claw
and then ran over to Minako and turned her over off
her side. "Come on Minako! You can't die on me now!"
he said and took off his cloak and wrapped it around
her before she could go into shock.
Suddenly a small bottle appeared right next to
Minako. Dunican looked over and picked it up and saw
a message on the bottle. 'Have her drink this' said
the message. Dunican was out of ideas and so he put
the bottle to Minako lips and gave her some of the
liquid inside.
Minako stayed still for a few moments, lifeless.
But all of a sudden, shuttering breath brought her
back. Her eyes slowly opened, her pupils shrinking
greatly in the light. Blinking several times, she
turned her head towards Dunican, a small smile
spreading across her face. "Dunican..." she
whispered, wincing at the pain it caused.
Dunican smiled back to Minako and then fell over in
a heap on the ground next to her. The loss of blood
was taking its toll on him from not getting looked at
right away.
Minako's smile faded, quickly realizing how much
blood he's lost. She sat up quickly, only to come
crashing back down, yelping in pain. Her wound was
still bleeding, and the potion didn't help any with
the pain. Tears escaped her closed eyes while she
grinned her teeth together.
Luckily for them, a patrol car happened to pass by
on its way to the mansion. ne of the officers quickly
jumped out of the car, rushing to the pair. "John,
get an ambulance down here now!" he called back to his
partner, examining Dunican.