Part 1

"So this is the Galleria Mall, huh?" spoke a red haired Japanese youth. Since Japanese people primarily had black hair, most people would assume that his hair color was a dye job. Actually, this was his real hair color. Not only that his eyes were emerald green, an even odder trait for someone from the orient if they weren't wearing colored contacts. His eye color, believe it or not, was also natural. His hair was straight, pulled back and tied into a ponytail. Only a pair of bangs framed his face. He was 16 years of age. His clothing of choice comprised of an open red Chinese shirt worn over a white t-shirt that held a red dragon emblem, blue jeans and red sneakers. "It's huge!"

"It says here they have 100's of stores, an amusement park and a food courts that is over 50 square feet," said his companion who was looking at a pamphlet of the mall. He wore a blue jacket over a black v-neck shirt and tanned slacks. His feet were covered in black leather shoes. He looked like a typical Japanese guy, aged 18, with short black hair that covered his eyebrows. He had black eyes. He looked like a really calm guy.

"So, why are we here again, Tazuka-niisan?" the younger boy asked.

"To get part time jobs while we're here in Canada and to close the Mirror Portals," Tazuka reminded.

"Oh, right," the younger boy nodded. "So, where do you want to work, Tazuka-niisan?"

"Don't know yet," Tazuka said as he looked around. "Let's meet back here at the fountain after we scope around, kay, Ryuki-kun?"

"Hai, niisan!" the younger boy, Ryuki, saluted with a huge smile. Tazuka chuckled at the younger boy who darted off to, surprise-surprise, the food court. He rolled his eyes. 'Food is definitely at the top of his list.'

Ryuki entered the food court and saw several places with a lot of good food sold at mall prices. Not cheap but still affordable. He licked his lips. What to try first? A Stick-It? A taco? Maybe something from that place called Burger McFlipsters? All this thinking about food was making him thirsty. He then went over to a huge yellow lemon looking stand.

The girl working at the stand had short blonde hair and wearing a pink top under her apron. She was squeezing lemons in frustration when he arrived.

"Ugh, I hate this job!" she threw the lemon and it hit his face.

"Itai!" he yelled out in pain as the juice got in his eyes. The girl gasped and ran up to him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she apologized and led him to a table. She reached into her purse and pulled out some moist napkins which she dabbed to his eyes. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized again.

"That's okay," he assured her and then their eyes met. Her eyes, like his, were green and shining and he didn't notice the lemon she wore on her head. She too was staring at his eyes and blushed.

"Hi," she said, stunned.

"Konnichiwa," he greeted back. "I'm Leo."

"I'm Caitlin. Sorry about throwing that lemon in your face." She was so embarrassed.

"It's okay, really," he reassured her. "My face was in the way." She giggled at the joke and he smiled.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind one of those lemons, squeezed into a cold beverage," Ryuki said.

"Coming right up!"

Tazuka stepped into a store called the Khaki Barn and browsed around a bit when one of the blonde girls working there came up to him, smiling widely, "Looking for something, sir?"

Tazuka just smiled back at her and said, "Just browsing." The clothes here seemed comfortable so he decided to get some clothes here instead of that other store called Albatross and Finch. The men working in that store were topless and Tazuka wasn't the kind or person to be working there.

He got some shirts and went to the dressing rooms where he saw a Chinese girl with chin length purple hair and piercings on her face. She also looked bored.

She watched him as he entered one of the changing rooms and he looked himself in the mirror as he tried on the shirt. He also saw his three Zodiac Beasts looking back at him.

He hadn't had any premonitions since he entered this place so he flipped a coin to see his luck. He smiled. It was still good.

Meanwhile, Caitlin and Ryuki were talking when three guys and a girl came along. One guy was blonde and dressed like a skateboarder. The other guy had dark skin with dreadlocks and the last guy had slightly spiky and messy hair. The girl with them was a redhead.

"Hey, guys!" Caitlin called them.

"Whasup, Caitlin," the blond skater greeted.

The dark skinned male was drinking a coffee and said, "Hey, Caitlin."

The red haired girl then noticed Ryuki and asked, "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh, he's Leo," Caitlin introduced. "Leo, these are my friends, Jude, Wyatt, Jen and Jonesy."

"Whasup, dude," Jude greeted.

"Hi," Wyatt said.

"Hello," Jen said.

"Yo," Jonesy said, trying to be cool as they sat at their usual place where Ryuki was sitting too.

"Konnichiwa," Ryuki greeted as he stood up and then bowed to them all. He then sat back down.

"Haven't seen you around here, Leo," Jen said. "You new here?"

"Hai, my…cousin and I just moved here and were wondering if we could get jobs," Ryuki said. That was the cover he and Tazuka were maintaining, that they were cousins. "I just came over to get something to eat when Caitlin-san threw a lemon at my face."

Caitlin blushed and the others laughed.

"So, where did you used to live, Leo?" Wyatt asked.

" Tokyo," Ryuki said.

"You seem a bit far from home," Jonesy said.

Ryuki shrugged. "Like I said, I just moved here."

"You like skateboarding, dude?" Jude asked.

"No, but I enjoy motocross," Ryuki replied.

"That's cool, bro."

Jen, meanwhile, was having girl talk with Caitlin.

"Isn't he just adorable?" Caitlin asked her redheaded friend.

"I guess he is," Jen said with a smile.

"He's so sweet and nice," Caitlin smiled dreamily.

"You gonna ask him out on a date?" Jen asked. Caitlin blushed.

"Jen!"

"What? You think he's cute so why not?"

The guys were laughing at Jonesy's misfortune. Ryuki joined in.

"You got fired from a job on the first day you were hired, Jonesy-san?" Ryuki chuckled.

"I got pretty high standards," Jonesy said, trying to make an excuse. "None of these jobs work for me!"

Ryuki nodded, "Hai, hai. It is important to find a job worthy of your talents."

"See, guys?" Jonesy said to Jude and Wyatt. "Ryuki here knows what I'm talking about."

Ryuki smiled to himself. He had made new friends on the first day he arrived. However, he frowned. After his mission was complete he would have to leave them. He hated his job as an operative since he would be forced to cut all ties with the people he met.

He resolved to enjoy it the best he could and as long as he could.

"So, I heard you like motocross," Jen said to Ryuki.

"Hai, I do. It's a thrilling sport and I enjoy it very much," Ryuki replied.

"Play any other sports?"

Ryuki listed, "Soccer, basketball, martial arts…"

"Wait, martial arts?" Jonesy said.

"Hai, I've been practicing since I was 4," Ryuki said. "My family owns a dojo."

"Cool, dude," Jude said. "Hey, why don't I get you some stick-its? Excuse me." He rolled away on his skateboard.

"He works here in the food court," Wyatt explained.

"And you, Wyatt-san?" Ryuki asked.

"Oh, I work at a music store called Spin This."

"I see…"

"I got a job here in a sporting goods store called the Penalty Box," Jen told Ryuki and he stared at her. "I know the name doesn't seem much but I like my job. It's my boss that's well…"

"MASTERSON!"

"And there goes my break. Later, guys," Jen then walked away and back to work.

"Who was that?" Ryuki asked, regarding the booming voice.

"Coach Halder, Jen's boss," Jonesy said. "He's not such a bad guy, though. It's Ron you should be worried about."

"Ron? Who is that?"

"Ron the Rent-A-Cop," Jonesy said. "He's the security guard here who hates teens."

"Why?"

"Don't ask me, dude," Jonesy said.

"Hey, guys," spoke a new voice, a girl, who then sat down. This was Nikki Wong.

"Nikki, meet Leo!" Caitlin said and Ryuki stood up before bowing to Nikki respectively.

"Konnichiwa, Hajimemashite," he said to her, greeting politely, before he sat back down. Jude skated back to them with a tray of small sausages on sticks.

"Try some, dude," Jude offered and Ryuki took one and took a bite. He smiled.

"These are delicious, Jude-san," Ryuki complimented.

"Thanks, dude," Jude said and sat down.

"I see you're making friends already, Ryuki-kun," Tazuka said as he walked towards the table.

"Hai, Tazuka-niisan," Ryuki nodded.

"Hey, you were that guy at the Khaki Barn," Nikki said.

"It's good to see you too, miss…" Tazuka said.

"Nikki Wong. Call me Nikki."

Ryuki introduced the others to Tazuka. "Everyone, this is my cousin Tazuka." He then introduced Tazuka to the gang. "Tazuka-niisan, these are Wyatt-san, Jude-san, Jonesy-san, Caitlin-san and you've already met Nikki-san."

"First name basis already, Ryuki-kun?" Tazuka smiled to his younger 'cousin'.

"Hai." Ryuki added, "There is also Jen-san but her boss called her away."

"I hope to meet her soon."

"Found a job yet, niisan?"

"No, not yet," Tazuka shook his head as he flipped a coin. "But I think my luck might point me in the right direction. Well, I hope to see you all again soon. I'll continue to look for a job." Tazuka walked away.

"Wow, your cousin is cute, Leo," Caitlin said.

"Domo arigatou," Ryuki nodded.

"But why did he call you Ryuki?" Caitlin asked.

"Oh, because Ryuki's my first name," he told her. "Only family ever calls me Ryuki. Friends call me Leo." He didn't tell her that people that were really close to him also called him Ryuki.

The four friends of Caitlin looked at each other and then smiled knowingly. Well, Jude was a little slow of getting it as Nikki said, "Gotta get back to work. See ya, Caitlin."

"Me too," Wyatt said as he got up.

"Catch ya later, bros and bras," Jude said as he skateboarded away.

"I gotta go look for another job. Catch you on the flipside," Jonesy said before walking away.

"Bye, guys," Caitlin said. Now, her and Ryuki were all alone and well…they were blushing.

"This place is so big," Ryuki said, trying to start another conversation.

"How about this," Caitlin began her suggestion. "Let me give you a tour of the Galleria Mall?"

"Arigatou."

When a few nerf balls came flying to his head, Caitlin was about to shout for him to duck when he caught them expertly in his hands before they hit him. Stanley just shouted, "Nuts!" before moving towards another target.

"That was amazing!" Caitlin said. "You caught them without looking."

"Reflexes," Ryuki said, shrugging modestly. Suddenly he heard a familiar ringing sound in his ear and said to Caitlin, "Sumimasen, but there is something I need to do." Caitlin watched as the Japanese boy ran off.

At the same time, Tazuka had just saved a snobbish brunette from falling into the fountain. Her name was Tricia and she was trying to get his digits, thanking him for saving her from getting wet when Tazuka's attention was drawn by the ringing in his ear.

"I have to go! It was nice chatting with you!" he than ran off towards the source of the ringing.

Tazuka made his way to the bathroom where Ryuki was. They checked to see if anyone was around before they both held out there Zodiac Decks at the mirrors, summoning their belts.

"Zodiac Force!"

"Dragon!"

"Pisces!"

They snapped the decks to their belts and the armors encased them. Ryuki's/Draco's armor was primarily red with a silver chestplate that held a dragon emblem. His bodysuit was red alongside his helmet. Silver trimmings decorated his armored boot and gauntlets as a silver headpiece with a dragon emblem rested on his helmet. The headpiece had short horns and 'fangs' that framed the eyes. His eyepieces were green and the mouth guard was silver. On his left forearm was an armguard that looked like a dragon's head.

Tazuka's/Jawz' armor was blue and white and worn over a black bodysuit. A gold 'X' was on his chest and in the centre was circle bearing his symbol of Pisces. He had fins on the sides and top of his helmet and on his shoulder guards. His faceplate was white with a black 'Y' shaped visor. On his left forearm, like Draco, was a small shield shaped like a hammerhead shark.

"Ikuzo!" Draco said and Jawz nodded before the two of them jumped in. As they were jumping in, someone saw them at the last second. It was the resident mall geek known as Darth. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and went to the mirrors, touching them but didn't feel anything strange about them.

Both Draco and Jawz sped into the Mirror Dimension and met their adversaries. They were Avis-Hammer and Avis-Slasher. Both monsters were shark themed but had different fighting styles. Avis-Hammer had large and bulky armor while the hammerhead on its chest was used as a cannon. Avis-Slasher had sleeker armor and its head looked like that of a shark with fins on its arms and back. They were colored silver and green.

Avis-Hammer took aim and fired at the two Knights who leapt out of the way. Avis-Slasher then charged at them slashing with its swords.

"I'll take the ugly one!" Jawz said as he kicked the Avis-Slasher away and went towards the Avis-Hammer. Draco nodded and then slammed his fist into the Avis-Slasher's gut before going for a roundhouse kick to its head.

Jawz walked slowly towards the Avis-Hammer who shot at him with its chest cannon but the Knight of Pisces proved to be a slippery one. He sidestepped each shot, and kept moving, evading any and every shot of the monster. He also blocked with his Hammerhead Shield and drew a card before sliding it into said shield.

"Swing Vent: Sting Whip!"

A pink stingray monster flew overhead and dropped a barbed whip into his hand. He then lashed it out and the weapon slashed the monster across the face. Jawz then charged and then performed a forward kick before continuing his assault with a back kick and then a lash of his whip.

"Sword Vent: Dragon Flame Sabre! Guard Vent: Double Dragon Shields!"

Draco had activated two cards as well and on his left forearm was a silver and red shield while in his right hand was a saber. He blocked the Avis-Slasher's sword slashes with his shield before he slashed at the monster at well. It blasted at him with water but he used his shield to block the attack before he telekinetically threw the monster into its partner, Avis-Hammer. Jawz and Draco decided to finish them off quickly and drew their cards before activating them.

"Shoot Vent: Dragon Flame Cannon!"

"Copy Vent: Copy Dragon Flame Cannon!"

Draco summoned forth his arm cannon, which was in the shape of a dragon's head as Jawz created a copy of it with his Copy Vent card. They faced the two monsters who were struggling to get back up. The two Knights reared their arms back and then threw them forward. Dragonzer, Draco's red dragon Zodiac Beast, added more fire power to the attack as its fire breath joined in with their fireballs. The monsters were hit and exploded.

Draco teased his 'cousin', "Did your fortune telling say we would win?"

"It did," Jawz nodded.

"Let's get back."

"You just want to talk to that blonde girl."

Draco inwardly thanked his helmet for hiding his blushing face. "Tazuka-niisan…" he whined.

"Hey, I approve," Jawz said. "Go get her, Ryuki-kun."

"Arigatou…"

They then leapt into the mirror portals and ended up back in the bathroom. Their armors shattered off as they made their way out. They didn't notice that someone had been watching them.

"Tadaima!" Ryuki said as he came back to the 'Lemon' to see Caitlin serving another customer…then accidentally spilling the drink all over said customer. Ryuki chuckled.

"Sorry," she apologized and then noticed Ryuki. She blushed in embarrassment. "You didn't see that, right?"

"Um…no," he lied, not wanting to embarrass her further. "Sorry about that, there was something I needed to take care of."

They were then silent and then spoke at the same time.

"Caitlin-san, I…"

"Leo, I…"

They paused.

"You go first," he urged.

"Well, you see…you want that tour now?" Caitlin offered, taking off the lemon on her head and her apron.

"Hai, sure," he nodded.

Tazuka walked over and saw that Caitlin had closed shop. "And I was just about ready to get a cold beverage," he said.

"Gomenasai, Tazuka-niisan," Ryuki apologized.

"Sorry, but I offered to give him a tour of the place," Caitlin said. Tazuka smiled at the two.

"I see…Well, have fun, Ryuki," Tazuka said before walking away and flipping his coin.

And so, Caitlin gave Ryuki the grand tour and he enjoyed the bubbly blonde's company very much. She showed him the places where her friends worked like the Khaki Barn (Nikki), Spin This (Wyatt), Stick-Its (Jude), the Penalty Box (Jen) and…well, Jonesy didn't have a job. He got fired…again. Ryuki gave the boy his condolences and a "Gambatte" to encourage him further.

Caitlin showed him the amusement park as well as some of the other stores like Albatross and Finch, Taj Mahome Videos and many more…Ryuki enjoyed the tour very much, especially with her.

"You wanna catch a movie or something?" Caitlin asked as they were standing in front of the Gigantoplex movie theatre.

"That would be nice," Ryuki said, smiling charmingly.

"Hey, Caitlin!" spoke a snide voice and Caitlin flinched at hearing it.

"Hello, Tricia," Caitlin said, not wanting to show her irritation in front of Ryuki.

"Who's your new friend?" Tricia said as she cast a flirtatious look at Ryuki.

"He's Leo," Caitlin said, giving Tricia the look that said, 'Back off, he's mine!'

"Are you a friend of Caitlin-san's?" Ryuki asked.

Tricia said, looking at Caitlin, "You could say that. Name's Tricia. Say, Ryuki, you wanna go get some ice cream with me?" she smirked.

Ryuki shook his head, "Gomen, but right now Caitlin-san is being so gracious in giving me a tour of the mall so I cannot. Maybe some other time."

Some other time, huh? Maybe Tricia had a shot after all. "Well, see you two later…" she walked away.

"She seems nice," Ryuki said.

"Leo, you should stay away from her. She's a bad girl," Caitlin warned.

Ryuki looked surprised, "But I thought you two were friends."

"We were…at least I thought we were…but things change and…just, don't get too close to her. She's very manipulative."

Ryuki nodded, saddened to hear about a broken friendship but he knew he couldn't do anything about it. "Hai, I will."

"So, a movie?" Caitlin asked.

"Not today," he said, shaking his head. Caitlin frowned in disappointment. "I suddenly remembered that my cousin and I are going to look around town. Maybe we can go see one tomorrow night?"

Caitlin smiled and then kissed his cheek, causing him to blush. "Okay, tomorrow night then. It's a date."

Both Ryuki and Tazuka were in the older boy's car as they drove towards the hotel. Tazuka looked over to his friend in curiosity.

"Are you purring?" Tazuka asked. Ryuki was making purring sounds like a cat and had s smile on his face. Tazuka smirked knowingly.

"It's not purring!" he protested. "It's happy growling!" It actually was purring, but Ryuki was not going to admit it, even to his best friend.

"Hai, hai…" Tazuka then asked, "Are you going to hang out with them again tomorrow?"

"Hai, I am," Ryuki nodded and then added, "I understand that we'll be leaving as soon as our mission is complete and the Mirror Portals here are closed, but I do wish to have a normal life."

Tazuka nodded. They were sent to close the Mirror Portals here since there wasn't a Knight in the area to fight the monsters. The people would be endangered if the monsters were allowed loose somehow.

Several Mirror Portals in several other places had already been closed, not allowing anything but Zodiac Knights and their Beasts access to them. Wild Monsters would not be using those portals anytime soon.

Back at the mall, Darth was busy at the Stereo Shack with a number of the usual tasks and customers. However, he was doing it half-heartedly. He wasn't even making Star Wars quips since his mind was occupied with what he had just witnessed.

He wasn't sure what it was he saw, but he knew that it was something pretty darn cool. Those guys in the armor were just as cool as their ability to pass through those bathroom mirrors. It easily matched anything that he had seen in Star Wars and he had seen every movie at least twelve times.

Still, he had to try and figure out just who those guys were. He knew some guys at school who were into Japanese shows and those two guys in the restroom seemed to be the embodiment of what they looked up to.

He decided that he just had to find out who they were and if whatever he saw was real!

End Part 1