Get your own Free Home PageIn a city [which looks European but supposed to be Japanese ^_^;;], a girl's voice is heard, "Checkmate!" Another famous painting has been stolen and searchlights light up to look for the thief. The girl thief escapes from the police chase, leaving humiliated police and an angry girl.
OPAfter the lessens are over, Kusakabe Maron is running across the playing field to the gymnasium, where her friend, Toudaiji Miyako welcomes her by dropping a lot of balls on her head. She was the angry girl with the police last night and admits that she is taking it out on her for no reason. She tells her Jeanne stole anther painting last night. But that wasn't the only reason. The first-year members of the Rhythmic Sportive Gymnastics Club are supposed to come earlier than others to set up training equipments and Maron was late. Miyako, a daughter of a police detective, is strict about rules while Maron is rather loose on them. She wants to be a detective herself someday and that is why she follows her father even to the site of thefts. She is determined to carry on until she catches Jeanne. Maron wonders why, of all the thieves, she is so keen on catching Jeanne. Miyako gives no particular reason; it seems a matter of her pride.
A sharp sound of a pipe stops the quarrel between the two. It was of their coach, Ms Paccamarao. She preaches at the two girls that rhythmic sportive gymnastics must be performed with a pure heart and an ugly heart will never produce good performance. She then calmly asks, "Now then, who were to blame?" The two shameless girls fiercely blame each other and are consequently thrown away from the gymnasium.
Maron is walking back home in the dusk and complains at Miyako that she is following her. Miyako isn't following Maron; simply her house is opposite to Maron's in the same building. Maron continues to speak ill of Miyako, who is about to retort but stops doing so, seeing Maron checking her mailbox. The empty mailbox brings a lonesome look on Maron's face and Miyako restarts the quarrel, perhaps to encourage Maron. Miyako, as a show of her defiance, punches a pile of cardboard boxes, which collapses over them. Miyako quickly puts the blame to someone else, "Who left such boxes here!?" Surprisingly an apology comes immediately. A good-looking boy [Nagoya Chiaki] helps Miyako to stand up and the two girls flushes in adoration. It is Miyako who regains her usual self first. She tells him not to leave any rubbish in the hall. He evades her accusation by sweet words, "A talkative girl is really nice". To surprised Miyako, he gives another push, "You are even nicer when quiet." Then he switches his target to Maron, who is still sitting on the floor, "You are nice, too, especially with this view." She realises her knickers are showing.
The two girls get out of the lift at the seventh floor, Maron furious and Miyako dreaming. Maron suspects the boy might have been moved in to the flats because those boxes were empty. That would be a nightmare! Miyako does not answer to Maron but gives a big sigh. Without a word, she enters her house, where her mother welcomes her back. Maron goes into her house, dark and empty.
She puts TV on to watch a news program, which reports that paintings of Yamakawa Ryuujirou, a Human National Treasure [In Japan, the most important cultural heritages are assigned as National Treasures for conservation. When the heritage is "skill", its owner (artist) is called a human National Treasure], have been vandalised again last night. In fact, it is the artist himself who did it. Yamakawa comes out of a gallery and walks away, without noticing a tiny ball of blue light is following him.
The ball reaches just outside of his studio and transforms into a angel. Yamakawa is working on a new painting but suddenly drops the brush. He struggles as if he is having a fit. "No!! Don't come into my mind!!" Mist rises from his body and flows into a painting on the wall, which momentarily shows a smiling face of a demon. As all the mist goes into the painting, Yamakawa stops suffering but his face is covered with an evil look and he splashes black paint over the painting. The angel, who has been watching, is now alarmed. She magically produces a card and throws it to him through the glass. It is notice that Jeanne is to steal his masterpiece "The Green Light" at eight tomorrow evening.
The angel, Fynn, comes back to Maron's room where she welcomes her lovingly. He tries to explain about her next "job" but she refuses it immediately. It was only yesterday she did her last "job" and she is a high school girl, busy with school and friendship. But Fynn doesn't give up. She tells Maron the vandal is Yamakawa himself, possessed by a demon. Maron doesn't believe in demons but Fynn reminds her that she is chatting with an angel at this very moment. No one else can see Fynn. Maron is a reincarnation of Jeanne D'Arc and the only one who can seal demons hiding in "beautiful things". But unfortunately Maron doesn't know who Jeanne D'Arc is. According to Fynn, the Devil, which has always been attempting to take the world's control, has recently found a way to weaken God. He sends off demons to this world and makes them hide in beautiful things. Those who are impressed with its beauty will be possessed and their heard will be eaten away. Beautiful hearts of people are what God is fed on. If no one stops the Devil, the mankind will eventually perish. Maron, who is very sensitive about loneliness, is moved by Fynn's last word.
Eye CatcherMaron is invited to Toudaiji's for supper. Miyako's parents seems to be very fond of her and tell her she can have supper with them everyday if she wishes. Miyako is more interested in Jeanne's notice card to Mr Yamakawa, which surprises both her father and Maron. She claims to know everything in the police. Her father is annoyed with some of his men who probably told his daughter about the card. Maron is annoyed with Fynn, who sent the card without asking her again. Fynn flies away and sits on a shoulder of Miyako's mother. She reproves her daughter, who insists she will be at the site. But Miyako doesn't listen to her mother and says she has designed "a trap" for the occasion. She doesn't give any details but it worries Maron and Fynn. Only her mother remains calm and tells her not to go.
Back in her house, Maron sits on her bed in the dark room and buries her face in a pillow as a distant church bell rings for eight o'clock. Fynn apologies over the card but repeats the importance of Maron's job while Maron gives a glance at a photograph [probably Maron, when she was small, and her parents] and a doll which apparently repaired after being broken, on the cabinet. Besides, until she finishes this task, Fynn will not be promoted to a full Angel. Being an associate Angel is a tough life. Maron isn't moved. Fynn changes her tactics and tells her to save Mr Yamakawa. Unless she acts now, everyone will eventually vanish. Maron stands up and agrees to do the job, probably partly to cheer herself up.
Next evening a large number of police officers guard Mr Yamakawa's house. Miyako's father superintends the operation from the balcony. He checks with four detectives under his direct control. He also knows they are the ones who leaked about Jeanne's notice to Miyako. Then he assures the artist in the room that they will protect his masterpiece at any cost. Also on the balcony, Miyako is determined to catch Jeanne this evening.
Maron is watching at her from the top of a church spire through binoculars. Fynn is rather worried with the scale of the operation and a possible trap by Miyako. But Maron is sure of herself; she, Jeanne D'Arc reincarnated, cannot fail. At eight o'clock, she produces a wand [which supposed to be a rosario] and Fynn emits light from the jewel on her forehead to it. Maron jumps off from the spire and, as she falls to the ground, she transforms into Jeanne. "Daring and serious. Invincible and wonderful. Lively and courageous!"
She comes near the house and takes a "Rebound Ball" from a small magic item. She throws it to a tree inside the wall, where the ball transforms to a ring shape and holds a branch tightly. Using a wire attached to it, she jumps on the branch without alerting the officers under it. Then she jumps down to the ground and runs to the house at an amazing speed. The four detectives try to stop her one after another but Jeanne shows an excellent skill in martial art and beats all of them.
Fynn sends a message to her through the magic item and tells the artist is in his studio upstairs. Jeanne comes to the front yard of the house when the ground under her foot sinks. She barely escapes from this pitfall with the Rebound Ball. When she comes out of it, searchlights light her up. She sees Miyako at the balcony but runs into house without a word. Miyako tells the four detectives to act according to the plan, which surprises her father who didn't know when they made a plan.
In the house the four follows Jeanne secretly until she enters a room. Then they hear her scream. The four, as well as Miyako and his father who has come to the room from the opposite direction, rush into the room, triumphant with the success of their trap. But there is no Jeanne. She has been hiding on the wall just above the door. She lands behind them and dashes herself against one of them from behind. The six tumble towards the centre of the room and get caught by their own trap.
Jeanne finally comes to the studio and finds the painting. She is about to seal the devil when the artist attacks her from behind. He tries to strangle her but "Jeanne" inside Maron overpowers him. She shouts "Checkmate!" and throws a pin to the painting. Mist comes out of the painting and is sucked into the pin. When all the mist is gone, the pin transforms to a white pawn and falls off to the floor at the same time the painting becomes a mere white board. The sealing is completed.
The six come into the room to see Jeanne is about to escape from the balcony. Miyako activates her last trap, a giant throwing net. Jeanne momentarily shows a bewildered look but it is just acting. She throws the Rebound Ball to the center of the net and pulls it back to kill the speed of the net. Jeanne runs away quickly, leaving her special phrase, "I've stolen another false beauty tonight!" and furious Miyako behind.
Mr Yamakawa regains his consciousness. His evil look is also gone. He cries out to see his painting is gone, though, while Miyako deepens her determination to catch Jeanne even more.
In a dark room, Chiaki puts up an image of Maron on his computer screen. With a faint smile on his lips, he speaks to himself, "I know it was that girl, Kusakabe Maron".
ED
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