The Truth Emerges Started on 5/30/00 by Darien Starring Zoisite, Kunzite, Darien, Guardian, Michiru, Nephrite, Beryl ++++++ ++++++ +++++++ *Have you ever wondered what role your life plays in the cosmos? To look up at the stars and wonder what they think of you, of your past, even as they planned your future. To see them as impasionate veiwers on your life, never caring of the mess you've made and laughing at your futile atempts at fixing the wrongs of your past. And what if that past is hidden in dreams? Are we doomed to follow the mistakes from before even when we can't remember what they were?* Darien sighed as these thoughts rambled through his mind, breathing out smoke as he stared up at the heavens. He had wondered a lot about what was happening. A strange urge was in him, a feeling of wanting and longing that he could no longer bury with daily routines. Grounding out a cigarette stub on the balcony railing, he lit another one, ignoring the ringing phone in his apartment. There was something he had to do.. but what was it? Kunzite sat on a chair of craved wood, blacken and twisted in abstract forms, his ssteepled fingers touching his lips as he frowned at the image floating in front of him. He was in the Dark Kingdom, in his strong hold there, watching the flickering form of the reporter as he had been doing for the past week. He had never knew the vain and superfiscal man was actually one of the senshi allies until a few weeks ago, but now he had time and lesuire to take the man on. He snapped his fingers and a form appeared by the side of his chair. "Hullo, mate, you called?" "Twist, get me everything on that man ASAP." "Sure, no prob, mate. Be back soon." Zoisite wandered down the sidewalk, lost in his own thoughts as his headset played on with Kid Rock's "Only God Knows Why". Humming to himself as he wove in and out of the crowd, his eyes wandered to the storefronts, considering what to spend Nephrite's money on today. Some new clothes would be nice, even though he had two closets full of them. Candy in another caught his butterfly like attention. Nibbling his lower lip, he grinned cheerfully to himself. Yes, with Neffy-okami's credit card in hand, the day had great possibilities. Beryl stared calmly at the face in her globe, *He looks oddly like him, oddly so. Is it possible that he is the same, reincarnated in this time. If so I wonder if I dare allow Kunzite to carry out whatever plan he may be concieving.* Jeremy leaned against the balcony of his apartment and stared out at the hordes of people walking the streets, *Darien. Who would have thought that he was the Preacher. He'll be a target, he will be a target.* Michiru slammed her phone down. "Men, who needs them anyway!" she cried and flung herself on her bed. ever since she got hurt in the nurse's office Darien's been distant. Almost avoiding her. She called and called and he never answered. Did she do something wrong? Why was he avoiding her so much? She picked up her pocket book and stormed out of the room. She would go shopping and then to Darien's. The shopping part could have been avoided, but if she didn't calm down she was going to ring his neck. Nephrite sat in his cathedral alone, in deep thought. "The stars know everything." he muttered. He looked up at the ceiling. "Gemini, give me guidence." A shift in the atmosphere signled Twist's return. The skinny man did not look like a typical youma, instead he gave the appearance of a young punk in his leather pants, torn t-shirt, scuffed jacket and enough earrings and necklaces for several people. A pair of mirrored sunglasses completed the effect, and if no one heard his distinctive British accent, they would have thought him a senior member of the Yazuci. "There isn't much about him, boss," he said with a shrug. "He's just your average everyday man with a series of bad breaks. However, according to what I've scrounged up, he did associate with the young lady that unfortunatly did away with Jaddo. They weren't the close of friends but.." "I see," Kunzite said with a sigh. What did he expect, anyways? Public records did not tell one who was a senshi as far as he knows. But that didn't change anything. He had to deal with this person before the senshi could get to him. From what he had heard, Darien's alter ego was a formidable opponet as well as insane in meriting out justice. Twist shifted on his feet. "Want me to do something or shall I go back to my previous task?" "Go, I'll take care of this," Kunzite replied with a wave of his hand. Twist made a face before disappearing. Alone, Kunzite stood and stared at the image before. "I wonder if you even realize your potential," he murmurred. "Maybe I should see if you do.." Michiru wondered aimlessly from store to store. Nothing caught her eye at all. Maybe it was because she was depressed. She decided to take a small break from all the walking to get a drink. As she watched people pass she sighed. *Why can't I just have a happy life with a normal boyfriend.* she thought. (*growls* My post never made it *whines for a bit and reposts*) Zoisite never flinched as he felt the cold muzzle of a gun being pressed to his spine. The stinking breath that flowed past his cheek as the man's hand slid about him to start grubbing for his wallet brought a disgusted expression to the sakura's face. "Just gimme all yer cash and don't try nothin funny. You try sumpin, and yer guts will paint the wall before you, boyo." To Zoisite's credit, he let his wallet be taken, noticing the greedy glinting in the thief's eyes as he paged through all of Nephrite's credit cards. Eyes flicking side to side to see if anyone were about, a faint smile of hungry delight curved his lips. As the robber glanced back up and saw that smile, he shoved the gun in Zoisite's face. The rest happened as a blur to a normal person. The small hand rose, batting aside the weapon as if it were a toy. The sharp report of a bullet being fired deafened Zoisite for the moment, something that went unnoticed as his smile widened, revealing the needlesharp points of his fangs. His other hand pushed forward, flinging the thief into an alleyway as it knocked him off balance. Kicking the gun away, Zoisite leaped, landing on the man's chest. A soft caress was given to his victim's cheek as he turned the man's head aside, teeth sinking into his throat as the blood spurted down his throat. Kunzite teleported to an alley, Twist following him with annoyed little sigh. Glancing behind him at the youma, Kunzite smiled faintly. "You will be well compensated for your time, of course." "If you say so," Twist replied with a shrug. "Just as long as I get paid for the other job too." Laughing quietly-- the new youma he made were certainly individualists-- Kunzite nodded towards the mall. "Cause a stir, something that will bring out our friend. Something painful." The youma shrugged again and wandered off towards the mall, not even glancing down as he passed Zoisite. Kunzite waited a few moments until he was sure the sakura could hear him properly, then said quietly, "Zoi-chan." Guardian stared at the apartment below, he had been there all day watching, waiting for Darien to leave, waiting for the Negaverse to attack, but as of yet it had not happened. Finally he made his decision and turned, heading away from the apartment. Neither as Guardian nor as Jeremy Satterlee did he have what was needed to confront the man. He paused and glanced down at the mall before falling into the shadows and detransforming. Once there he slipped a black glove over his right hand and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up so that it covered his face and merely made him look like someone trying to hide his face from the world, suspicious, but less conspicious than his Guardian outfit. He slowly entered until he came across what he had been looking for since his stop to find her not there. Silently he slid into the seat across from Michiru, keeping his head angled down for a bit of extra security before speaking in the same even, deep tone he used as Guardian, "Your boyfriend is just a beacon for trouble." Zoisite rose to his feet with the catlike fluidity he usually possessed even when not hunting. Flicking his tongue over his lips to gather up the last flecks of red from his lips and chin. He didn't have Kunzite's neatness or style with bringing down his dinners, but he was getting better. He no longer had any sort of sickness at doing what he did. Moving to Kunzite's side, he lifted his head to brush a kiss along his cheek. One arm slid about the ice king's waist as his eyes rose to meet the cold platinums of his lover's. Something wasn't quite right in the sakura's opinion... either Kunzite was preoccupied or upset. He wasn't sure which. "Yes, love?" Michiru looked up at the new comer. Her heart almost stopped at the sound of his voice. "Excuse me?" she asked. "I know you..from somewhere, don't I?" She was very nervous at this sudden appearence of a total stranger. Now she really did wish Darien had answered his phone this morning. Kunzite looked down, one hand carassing Zoisite's chin, tilting his face up with tenderness even as he bent his head down to press a lightest of kisses on his lover's lips. Even the faint taste of Zoisite's kill brought a shuddered response to Kunzite's frame, but he quickly gained control of himself before the hunger took over. "I am moving in on that reporter, the one that hit you with that rose a while back," he said. "we're going to call him out into the open, force him to transform and hopefully even capture him. I'd thought that you would want to be in on it." Guardian kept his voice flat as he noticed the nervous reaction. He sighed silently to himself and kept his voice low so Michiru could hear him but no one else could, "Put your fears aside Peace Keeper. I am a friend and an ally and we have met before. Those concerns are not ours to contend with for the moment. It will only be a matter of time before the Dark Kingdom and their wicked Queen finally make a move against your boyfriend." "Against Darien?" Michiru asked. "But why him? He's been acting strange lately I know, but I doubt he's working for them." she said defensively. Pressing his lips against Kunzite's palm, Zoisite smiled faintly at the thought of getting near Darien again. A hint of a frown marred his lips as his jaden eyes met the cool platinums of the ice king's. "I don't know... there's something about him. It's like... there's two people within him. We... I ... saw it before. Remember that night at your club?" Kunzite frowned in reply, looking past Zoisite at the shopping area. "Hai. It was certainly different. Most people don't act that way when given a dark energy boost." Darien tossed away his cigarette stub and dug around for another one but the pack was empty. Looking around for more, he glanced at his accusing phone before looking back over the city. He felt like doing something, an itching sensation in his spine that wouldn't go away. Guardian kept himself calm, "Merely search your memories of the day in the nurse's office when you met Setsuna, that should be explanation enough. He is a threat to them, no reason other is needed." "What are we going to do then?" Zoisite asked as he slid his hand into Kunzite's. "All I remember is getting hit and a rose. I thought it was your rose and I passed out. I lost so much blood that day that I didn't regain conciousness until later, at least...I think that's what happened." Michiru said softly. "We are going to flush him out of hiding by endangering one of his senshi friends," Kunzite replied, giving his hand a squeeze. "I have a youma working on it now. Then we can easily capture him and take him to the Dark Kingdom for study. I want to see exactly what makes him tick." "I have an idea of what makes him tick, Kunzite-sama. I don't think you want to know. I doubt that he's your type," the sakura replied, winking up at his companion as they moved down the street. Lifting the ice king's palm to his lips, his tongue flicked over the skin. "So what would you like me to do for you?" "Now or later?" Kunzite teasenly replied. "I have a few things I'd like to try out.." Darien left his apartment in search of more cigarettes. Even as he left, he could hear his phone starting to ring again. Making a face, he shrugged his jacket on better and headed downtown. The rest of the world can wait until he got a pack of smokes. Twist hung up the phone and smiled at his reflection in the phone booth's glass. A few steps away was a green haired woman talking to a enshoruded man. Twist grinned, his reflection looking like a pointy eared devil in the glass. "This makes things so much easier," he said cheerfully to no one. Zoisite poked him with a seductive smile. "Later for us. What do you want me to do as far as snaring up our new toy? Think of all the fun we could have with him. Too bad we couldn't grab his girlfriend as well. She seemed rather fond of you." "So true, but you never know," Kunzite replied with a shrug. "What I need you to do is keep on eye on him. I last saw him at his apartment, but he could be moving by now. When he heads this way to help his girlfriend, I need to be told so the trap can be set. Is that okay with you?" Zoisite nodded and pressed a kiss to Kunzite's cheek. "I'm on it, love." Teleporting out from Kunzite's side, Zoisite reappeared on top of Darien's apartment building with his usual flurry of sakura blossoms. Peering over the edge, he grinned cheerfully at finding his quarry. Another leap brought him to the building after, following him from above. It beat walking. ~~ Guardian sighed, "I am surprised that the other Senshi in attendence failed to mention it, or that he didn't mention the results. The rose was not mine, it belonged to Darien." Michiru looked up. "Darien's...but...he." she said and put her head down. "This is so confusing. Is that why he's staying away from me..because he's one of the Knights?" she asked. She was about to go on when a scream cut throught he air like a knife. "What the..." she asked looking in the scream's direction. Guardian's head turned and light hit his face just right to notice the faint trace of a scar on his lower chin, "It would seem to be a situation worth investigating. We must be careful though, you are likely bait for a trap." Michiru looked at Guardian and smiled. "Hey, I'm a big girl now..I can take care of myself you know." she said and stood up heading for the scream, "lets go." Guardian simply got to his feet not saying a word a following behind Michiru. He reached up and pulled the hood out more on his sweatshirt, tightening it, forcing the shadow over his face to remain. Silently he followed, *Overconfidence can be a killer Michiru, I hope you never have to learn that.* ((Scream? What scream? Who screamed?)) Vclothing changing in a ripple, Zoisite hopped down, landing lightly behind Darien. A moment was taken to watch the way he moved, remembering a night not too long ago. Purring in delight, he bounced to the other man's side. "Darien-chan! How are you?" Darien looked up and grimaced slightly. "Just peachy," he muttered his head dropping down and his eyes fixed firmly on his feet. He looked like death warmed over, his pale skin white, his hair unkept, the stubble of several days worth of beard on his face. ~Good, keep on him,~ Kunzite told Zoisite, stepping into the mall. in his normal jeans and loose shirt, he looked like hundreds of others shopping or eating or plain gossiping. The screams turned out to be from a large cluster of women fighting over a sales both. Without appearing to, he stepped in and calmed down the worse of the group. Nothing must distract his target when the true attack comes. Nothing. ((Shame on you Phantom *wags finger* I'm not ready yet *evil chuckle*)) Zoisite eyed Darien with a fair amount of concern... or at least as much as he could show for one of his favourite bedmates. He still had a nearly unnoticable scar on his chest from Darien's bites that night... well, at least until Kunzite would notice it and make him get rid of it. Small, soft hands rose to cup the haggard man's face between them, orbs of jade trying to see the depths of his sapphire ones. Ripples of his own dark energy seeped into Darien. If the man fainted or died right here on the sidewalk, nothing would be accomplished. Gently stroking the other man's flesh with his fingertips, the sakura's voice dropped to a near whisper, "What is wrong? Can I help you?" ~Kunzite-sama? He's sick... really sick. He looks like Nephrite after drinking for a straight week.~