Chapter 7

It was a nice dream. He had his own weapon smithy just outside of town. He had a beautiful with that cared for him greatly; he even had two children with a third on the way. He hoped this one would be a boy. He adored his daughters and taught them well, but it just wasn't the same as having a son that he could raise to take over the family business.

After a long day of work he went over to the house to visit with his wife as she made dinner. She scolded him for bringing his smelly self into the house before she kissed him. She then sent him off to take a bath, joking that he could stop a troll at twenty yards with his stink. He smiled at her and stole another kiss before leaving the kitchen to go get a bath. He went through the kitchen door-

And found himself in a grey landscape with his memories returning to him. He turned around to find that his dream was now gone. He sighed. When he again turned around he found that he was in front of the all too familiar city surrounded by the all too familiar wall. Why couldn't she just bring him directly to her? Shaking his head he headed into the city.

It didn't take him long to get to his destination for time and distance meant very little in this place. He walked into the large chamber where he had first sat and talked with Katreen. She was there once again, wearing her long black dress and that beautiful necklace with the black gems. She turned as he came in and smiled a stunning smile. He really hadn't thought of her as a beautiful woman since he had first met her. But now he again recalled that she really was quite stunning.

"Sorry to disturb your peaceful dreams Joram, but I wish to speak with you." She said as she motioned him to sit on a couch meant for two.

"Sure. What about?" Joram asked as he sat down. She then sat beside him and turned so she could regard him without having to turn her head at an uncomfortable angle.

"I wish to tell you of the things that have transpired since you disappeared." She said as she began her story. She told him of the rise and fall of many nations, of the major earthquakes that had come and wiped out most of the civilizations that had developed in his time, and how most of the magical races and creatures had left this plane. Of how the elves had left the earth behind to return to their mythical home, and how the dwarves, gnomes and halflings had also left this world that was no longer hospitable to them.

She told him of how the continents had been shattered and reformed into the masses they were today. She told him of the rise of the Moon Kingdom from where the Sailor Senshi hailed from and how it had fallen.

She continued the story of how the major civilizations of several thousand years ago had influenced the world of today and how they had developed their technology to replace the magic that had been lost to the world. She explained the decline in people who were born with a predisposition to do magic and how that power was weaker and weaker when one did finally show up.

As she spoke he could see the images in his mind of what she was telling him. He wept for the beauty that was lost to the world when said Moon Kingdom had fallen. He saw as the remaining humans rebuilt their disperse cities and began to once again thrive in their remote countries. He saw the rise and fall of Alexander the Great's empire, the Egyptians, Persia, Israel, the Romans and many others as they rose and fell from might.

He then saw the rise of the Americas and how it changed the world. He saw the Chinese and their great empire and how they both thrived and suffered. He saw the history of the Japanese people and how they had fought so frequently amongst themselves for honour, glory, or greed. He saw that theme repeating itself over and over throughout the history of the world and wondered to himself how they couldn't see that pattern of destruction. How foolish were they to repeat the same mistakes of the past.

At length she finished her long and sad tale. He sat there reflecting on what she had both told and shown him for quite some time. He came out of his reflections of the past with a start when Katreen laid her hand on his.

"And through all that time I couldn't forget you Joram. I was filled with a grief far beyond anything I had yet felt. You wouldn't believe how many millennia I searched for you, hoping that you were out there somewhere." She said and then laughed a gentle, musical laugh. "I didn't think that you might have been "some-when" instead of somewhere." Joram couldn't help but grin at that and at the expression on her face.

"Well, I'm glad someone missed me." Joram said with a smile.

"I missed you this much." She said as she raised her arms and pulled him close into a passionate kiss. A couple of minutes later she released him with a sigh. She continued to lean against his chest as he caught his breath.

"Ah, I, uh…." Joram stammered when he could once again breathe normally. He then tried desperately to change the subject. "So, uh, how do you know that girl from earlier in the evening? You know; the one with the short black hair, about sixteen?"

"Ah. That would be Tomoe Hotaru, also known as Sailor Saturn." Katreen mused. "If you would like to know how I know her, you could ask her yourself. That would be a good way to get to know her better. That would also be a good way to get to know Haruka and Michiru better as well. Haruka may have a hot temper, is both paranoid and somewhat irrational at times, but she does try hard to do her duty to the Kingdom and her Princess."

"Great, just what I need. Anyway, what about that Michiru girl? She, at least, seemed less hostile once Hotaru spoke with her."

"That's true, but she may still try and kill you more permanently." She said with her musical laugh. "I might have my work cut out for me if that is the case."

"Gee, thanks for the show of confidence." Joram grumped. "Do I really have to get to know them better?" Joram asked, almost pleaded.

"No, but it would help to not have them trying to kill you every time they see you. Well, I digress. You need to get your sleep, and I have some work to do. There was this young lady that you had met earlier in the day that was just hit by a truck. She just arrived a few moments ago."

"Who?" Joram asked with a sense of dread.

"Her name is Ukyou-"

"Where is she?!" He asked as he jumped to his feet.

"Ah, this again." She said with a small smile as she touched his forehead just below the diadem. He got a flash of where she was still rolling over and over on the road after being hit by a large truck. It wasn't far from her restaurant.

"I have to go. She helped me and now I have to help her." Joram said with a pleading tone.

"Then I'll not send her on to a new life. Go with all speed before someone has a chance to check her." He heard those last words through a fog that had arisen around them. Then he woke up.

Jumping up in his boxer-briefs, Joram grabbed his Dragon Silk armour and his shoulder satchel and jumped out the still open window. He realized that they were a good eighty feet up as he plummeted to the ground. Before he hit the ground he performed another jutsu. There came a whirlwind out of nowhere to grab him up and drop him on top of a building a good two hundred yards away. He then channelled some more chakra and was off at an incredible speed. It only took him another five minutes to reach the location of the accident at those speeds. He was also very happy that Makoto's apartment wasn't that far from Nerima.

When he got there he found that the truck had taken off and left Ukyou's broken body behind. He landed without as much as a whisper beside her prone form. He then knelt down beside her and looked at her closely. It looked as though she had been hit completely by surprise by the way she was sprawled out. She was already growing cold.

He quickly found his center and the connection to Katreen that allowed him to do certain things as though they had been a part of him since birth. One of those things was the ability to resurrect someone from the dead. As he laid his hands on her head he released the energy needed. They were both surrounded by a radian silvery-white light that shone brightly enough to illuminate the street as though it were day. Briefly there were blue sparks that could be seen floating around the two people on the sidewalk as what looked like a third appeared in the air above the one laying down. It then descended and merged with the on laying down. The lights then winked out.

Slowly Ukyou's eyes fluttered open. She gave him a confused look that seemed to ask: "Why am I laying on the sidewalk?" Joram grinned down at her as he helped her sit up.

"What am I doing here?" She finally managed to ask.

"You had an accident. I just so happened to be walking by when it happened so I stopped and healed you." Joram lied. She seemed to believe it, then got an odd look on her face.

"I remember a beautiful woman in black telling me to be patient." She said as though she were trying to remember a dream. "She said that you were coming to get me."

"Really," Joram started to sweat. "She didn't happen to mention her name, did she?"

Ukyou concentrated for a moment but finally wound up shaking her head. "No, she didn't mention her name. But who was she? Do you know her?"

Joram really hated lying. It had been really hard just to tell her that she had only had an accident instead of telling her that she had been dead only moments before. He then tried to lie again. "I was just joking around. You know, a beautiful woman in a dream seems to know who I am, so why not try and get her name?"

Now she gave him an odd look. He wasn't sure she believed the poor lie. She then shook her head and stood up with Joram following suit.

"Are you feeling well enough to walk?" Joram asked with some concern in his voice.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. I'll be all right sugar." She said as she looked all the way up at him. He was much taller than Ranchan. "You know? You look good with your hair down." She said.

"Oh, ah thanks. I guess I forgot to tie it up before I left." Joram said nervously as he swept his hair out of his face by running his hand up his face, over his head, then down his neck. He reached into his shoulder satchel and pulled out a blue ribbon that was so dark it almost looked black in the poor lighting of the street, and tied his hair back into his usual high ponytail.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Joram asked once he was done with his hair.

"Yeah, that would be nice." She said as she turned towards home. It only took them ten minutes to arrive at her place, which just so happened to be her restaurant. Joram said a polite good-bye and made his leave. Ukyou stood there watching him go and wondered why he had been out for a walk without any footwear. She shook her head and chalked it up to his oddness and went inside. She wondered though, what the chances were that he had just been walking by at the right time to help her, and why she didn't feel like she had been hit by a truck like he said she'd been.

"But it's not light out yet Jirin...." Joram mumbled as Makoto tried to poke him awake.

"If you don't get up soon you'll miss breakfast." Makoto teased. The combination of it being both a threat to go without breakfast and a female voice woke him up fast. For a brief moment he wondered where he was, then realized he was at Makoto's place with a wave of relief. Not knowing where you are when you awoke was very disorienting and disturbing.

"I'm up, I'm up!!" Joram said as he jumped to his feet. Makoto both grinned and blushed a wee bit when she saw that he was wearing boxer-briefs; and filling them out quite nicely. Joram, of course, was completely oblivious to the fact that Makoto was drooling slightly and hurried to pull on some pants. It wasn't polite to go to breakfast in one's undergarments.

Makoto cleared her throat as she tried very hard to block certain thoughts out of her mind. "Well, I've got to head off to school now. You can have my key to get in and out of the building. I won't be getting back until after five or so, so feel free to head out for a while." She handed him the keys as he sat down at the table that she used to eat her meals at.

"Ah, no need to worry about that; I can use the window." Joram said as he ate. Now that he was eating more regularly he didn't have to eat near as much food. That and he wasn't' doing anything that would require him to eat tonnes of food to keep him fuelled up.

"The window." She said blankly.

"Yeah, I can just head out the window if I need to head out." Joram said simply as he finished up breakfast.

"It might be better if you did use the door, I don't want to attract too much attention." She said as she sweat-dropped.

"Ah, forgot 'bout that." Joram said sheepishly. "I know! I could walk you to school and that way I could pick you up after school so that there won't be a chance of us missing each other."

"Sure." Was all she could manage as she imagined the other girls at school seeing her with this hunk of a guy.

"I'll go get my stuff then." Joram said as he tried to figure out that look on her face. At length he just dismissed it as her being anxious to get to school. He quickly tossed his new clothes in his satchel, rolled up the bedroll, and got the rest of the way dressed. He was especially sure to put on his Dragon Silk armour. Who knew when some idiot, freak or monster would attack?

As he was putting on his boots Makoto noticed the time. "Oh no!! I'm going to be late!!!" She yelled as she dashed out the door. Joram quickly hopped to and locked the door behind him. He turned in time to see the doors of the elevator close after Makoto. He quickly looked around for the stairs that she had mentioned last night. He saw a door that was marked with a person on stairs and b-lined it. He opened the door and sped down the stairs so fast it seemed as though he were flying. He landed on what he hoped was the main floor and looked out the door. Nope. Must be another one down. Next floor.

Ah, there she is. Joram thinks to himself as he catches a glimpse of her running out the front door. He sprints out and catches up to her easily. "I thought I lost you there for a minute." He said in jest.

"I'm so sorry!" Makoto says as she blushes and looks abashed. "I just can't be late anymore this month or my teacher is going to kill me."

"That wouldn't be good." Joram said as he ran along beside her, hardly noticing the pace. They ran for the next ten or fifteen minutes or so at full tilt until Makoto had to drop the pace slightly because she was getting winded.

"Are we going to be on time?" He asked from her side.

"No." She said miserably as she panted along. She just wasn't used to sprinting to school like Usagi was.

"Well, why don't you hop on?" Joram said motioning to his back. She just about tripped flat on her face. "No? Well, uh...." Joram thought for a moment. Makoto jumped as he abruptly smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "I have a bloody flying carpet!" He muttered to himself as he reached into his satchel and pulled out a very fine looking throw rug.

"A what?" She couldn't believe it. A flying carpet. This guy was just full of surprises wasn't he?

"A flying carpet." Joram said happily now that he finished berating himself for having forgotten about it the night before. He then came to a halt that forced Makoto to stop as well and threw the carpet outward while holding one end. It snapped open and hovered on the ground. It looked big enough to hold about four people. "Get on." Joram said as he hopped on. Makoto, not wanting to waste anymore time, did so. She then had to throw her arms around Joram as the carpet took off like a bullet.

"This is great!" She yelled into the wind as they rose above the houses. Joram just grinned and steered it in the direction she pointed in. It didn't take long for them to get to the school after that, they even got there while people were still trickling into the school. He landed outside the gate as Usagi almost flew past them in her hurry to get to class. Several students had stopped to stare at the odd couple as they got off the carpet

"When does school finish?" Joram asked as he re-rolled the carpet and put it in his bag.

"At three." She said as she gave him a huge grin. "Maybe we can take another ride after." She said then bolted to class. Joram stood there for a few minutes as he tried to commit the area to memory so that he could make his way back here when Makoto finished. He was distracted as he noticed some repetitive movement from the corner of his eye. He turned to see Usagi waving at him from one of the windows on the third floor. He grinned to himself as he caught the glint of bronze coming off her wrist in the morning light. He waved back at her and headed off down the street by foot. No need to start more people than he already had....

He was in a shop that sold clocks, lots of clocks. They even had really small ones that you could strap to your wrist. That was something he really had to look into. How could they make the parts that small? The little hands turned across the faces of various watches and he began to memorize the characters on the watch faces. There were others that had some means of making the numbers appear as they told the time. A kind lady who worked at the store explained it all to him when she saw that he looked completely lost. He gave her a nod and a grin of thanks as he continued looking through the store. He didn't notice the hungry look she gave him as he wondered through the store. It was better that way.

At length he decided upon a pocket watch. It was cased in silver with gold inlays; the interior had a crystal face and several diamonds to show where the hours were instead of numbers. It also had a long silver chain that went along with it, presumably so that one would notice if a thief tried to run off with it.

"Is that the one you wish to purchase sir?" Another one of the employees asked him. He looked up to see a very pretty lady smiling at him. He blinked.

"Uh, yes. I'll take that one ma'am." Joram said as he straitened up. He realized that he wasn't dressed very well compared to the rest of the clientele in the store. They all had on rather expensive looking clothes, while he was dressed in cargo pants, knee high boots, and baggy shirt. Then again, he guessed that his diadem had once again come in handy. She didn't seem to be looking at him in that condescending manner that high end merchants give poor people who wonder into their establishments. "How much?"

She blinked at him, looked at the display case, and looked back at the man in front of her. Was he mocking her? "That one would cost one hundred and twenty thousand yen sir."

Joram did a couple quick calculations in his head and grinned. "Wow, that's not bad at all." He said with a grin (that was becoming quite famous amongst the people that had seen it so far) that exuded cheeriness. The poor girl never knew what hit her; she smiled back at him in total shock. This man was gorgeous!

Joram then proceeded to pull out three stacks of bills and handed them to her. Well more took her hand and placed the money in it. That was enough to snap her out of her daydreams with a blush and a stammered apology. She then hurried around the counter and into the back room. She returned moments later with a box in her hand. She then motioned him to go to the till with her and punched in his purchase. "Now this watch's spring will be reset every time you open then close the cover. This will keep it going for seven days; so if you don't use it very often be sure to reset the time before you need to use it." She explained while showing him the watch up close. This was absolutely amazing. He must find out how it works!!

"It also has a limited life time warranty." She was saying.

"Limited?" Joram asked in some confusion.

"Yes, it will cover any defects due to manufacturer's defects, but not tampering with." She added as she saw the look in his beautiful eyes that seemed to say the watch was as good as spare parts if he so much as opened the back of the watch.

"Ah." Joram was disappointed. He had really wanted to take it apart to see how it worked.

"You may mail in the warranty information in the next thirty days if you don't have time today." She said/asked.

"Ah, I think that I may just have to mail it in. I'm in a bit of a hurry." Joram said as he laughed nervously. The clerk nodded and packed up all of the information into a bag that was made of some sort of weird material. He stopped her from putting the watch away though.

"I kinda' need something to keep track of the time you see." He said sheepishly. She smiled at him as she quickly set his watch to the right time. She then handed it to him along with his change and wished him a great day. Joram waved on his way out of the store and wondered around the "mall" for a time.

He noticed how people dressed and interacted with one another because of their clothing, hair cuts and so on. He spent a great deal of the morning studying people as they wandered around and spoke with one another in the food court of the mall. He noticed that the guys in those uncomfortable looking jackets and white shirts with different coloured strips of material tied around their necks seemed to be in the most hurry, and got the most respect. Maybe he needed to change his style somewhat? With a nod to himself he finished his food and went in search of a clothing store. Sure his Dragon Silk armour could change into any style of clothing he wanted, but he needed something to wear other than his armour.

It took him all of five minutes of searching before he found what looked like a tailor. He inspected the clothing critically before he entered the shop. Not like he knew what good sewing was like if it came up and bit him in the but....

A well dressed man came up to him and introduced himself then proceeded to show him the various styles they had for sale. During that time the tailor took his measurements then gave a sigh of resignation. He informed Joram that they had no suits, that's what he called them anyway, in anywhere near his size. So Joram inquired if he knew of a good tailor that could make him a suit in his size. This made the poor man think for a minute. It looked like it hurt him to do so. Finally he gave him the name of the place, Armani's, and instructions on how to get there. Joram thanked the helpful fellow and headed out.

It took him an hour to find the place. It was in Ich, the district between Juban and Nerima (author's note: it's my story, I'll make it up as I go; pls don't kill me.). It was a long and fairly narrow district from what he could tell from the map on the corner of the road. The shop in question was not particularly large, but very expensive looking. The interior design was something Joram hadn't experienced yet, and was still deciding if he liked when a very superficial looking woman approached him. She looked to be sizing him up to the copper. Her eyes stayed on his diadem for a moment longer than the rest of him and he could tell that its presence confused her somewhat. He wasn't terribly well dressed yet he had on an expensive looking piece of jewellery.

"How may I help you today?" He noticed the lack of honorific. So, she was just going to see how he reacted did she?

"I am looking for a tailor to do some work for me." He said as he looked around. He could tell that she was somewhat surprised that he spoke Japanese so well; he did look caucasian after all. "I was told that I could get something more to my size here." Joram finished as he finally regarded her. He put on his best authoritative air, wanting to see what her reaction would be. It wasn't what he wanted, but she did seem to re-evaluate him more closely.

"That is not a problem, we have many suits that would be able to fit a man of your stature. If I may?" She asked as she took a measuring tape from a pocket to take his measurements. After a couple of moments she was done and motioning him to follow along. She took him to one of the far corners to inspect a few suits over there. "What kind of price range are you looking for?" She asked while checking some of the tags.

"Money is not an issue." Joram said as he inspected a few of the suits. From the corner of his eye he noticed as both her eyebrows shot up and was barely able to conceal a grin as he placed his hand over his mouth pretending to think about his purchase. "I'm not particular on some of these cuts. Is it possible to have something custom made?" He asked as he turned to regard the lady that was becoming a little more friendly at the though of money.

"Yes, but that would cost much more that just purchasing one of the pre-made suits." She explained.

"Remember? Money: not a problem." Joram said and began describing how he would like a suit coat made. It was to fit fairly well around the torso and come down past the hips. Around the shoulders it would flare out a wee bit so that he could have full range of motion with his arms. It would also button up along the right side up to near the collar bones. It wound up taking another hour or so of him sketching out a design and going over what kind of materials he wanted for the coats. Near the end of the session the lady was giving him more respect. Especially when he said he wanted eight of them made. The trousers would be made of the same material and colour of course; and there would also be two pairs to each coat. Then came time to tally up how much it would cost.

"So, going by the time it should take to make each coat, the materials involved," she said as she quickly pushed buttons on a small box like thing, "It will cost five point five million yen." She said as she looked at him for a reaction. Joram on the other hand was making some more calculations in his head. Sixty some odd gold pieces. Joram's eyebrow arched briefly when he came up with the sum then just shrugged.

"How's ten percent right now?" Joram asked as he reached into his satchel and started to pull out stacks of bills. It was her turn to react. She raised her eyebrows at the amount of money that Joram carried around with him.

"That should be fine. I would like you to come in the day after tomorrow to do another fitting to make sure that they fit well." She said with a smile.

"When do you think they will be done for?" He asked as he finished fishing out the tenth stack of bills from his shoulder satchel.

"They should be ready by the end of next week barring any unforeseen circumstances." She said with a smile.

"I'll be looking forward to it." Joram said with his usual grin. "I'll see you the day after tomorrow then."

"Oh, what is your name sir?" She asked as he was heading for the door.

"Joram." He said then turned and left. He was going to have to find a bank somewhere. He took out the watch that he had bought that morning an took a look at the time. Two forty three.

"Ah, crap!" He said as he sped off down the street, startling several people along the way. He dashed down an alley and looked around. Nobody was around. Good. He then jumped off one building to another then onto the first building's roof. From there he took off like a bat out of hell. Some would say that he almost flew through the air instead of jumping from rooftop to rooftop at insane speeds. And so it was that he was only three minutes late when he arrived at the school.

He didn't even bother to jump down into an alley so as not to scare anybody when got there; he just jumped off the four story building across from Juban High, flipped a couple of times, and landed in front of the gates (with a short skid/slide as his boots tried to get a grip) as Makoto, Ami and Usagi got there. Said girls just stared at him, having seen him jump from where he had and land in front of them without injury. The other people weren't as fortunate to have seen the whole thing. To them it seemed as though he just dropped out of the sky. One fainted and four others bolted for their lives, afraid that he was another monster come to suck their energy away.

"Sorry!" Joram said as he pulled out his watch. "Three minutes late!"

"...."

"...."

"...."

Joram waved a hand in front of their faces. Had they fainted with their eyes open while still on their feet? A few girls gathered around to meet this new hunk of a guy that Makoto knew. The rumours had been flying around school faster than they had sped through the sky on the magic carpet that morning. Did Makoto finally have a boyfriend? Was he a prince from a far off land (that was asked because of the diadem he wore)? Somehow the rumour had spread that he was staying at her apartment and even more questions and rumours flew around. As the gathered girls realized that this was the guy from the day's gossip, they spread the news like wildfire.

So by the time the three girls recovered they had gathered quite a gathering.

"What? Why? How did you do that?" Makoto finally stammered out.

"Oh, the jump? That was simple enough. So, how was your day?" He asked with yet another grin. Why was he grinning so much? He hadn't grinned this much since before he had left X'atur. He gave a mental shrug and put that though off for later.

"Fine." Was all the three of them combined could think of besides that impossible jump he had just performed. How had he done that?!

"Ok then." Joram said as he ushered the girls to start them walking. All those other people (girls) staring at him had started to make him nervous. He had never really been good with crowds. "So, what would you like to do tonight Makoto?" Joram said as they walked in the general direction of her apartment with the other two girls in tow.

"We can take you to the Crown Arcade!" Usagi squealed as she started to bounce around in excitement. Joram just about got a cavity from the super sweet look she give them all when she stopped bouncing to try and convince Ami and Makoto to come along.

"Well there isn't a meeting tonight," Ami said thoughtfully, "I don't see why it would be a problem." Usagi beamed so brightly that it hurt to look at her directly. Joram briefly wondered if that was some sort of technique she had learned somewhere, then let the thought drop when he realized that she had absolutely no chakra control what-so-ever.

"That sounds like fun!" Makoto said as she walked closely to Joram, even taking his arm a little ways down the block.

"We shouldn't be too long though, because Tuxedo Kamen will be waking up tonight." Ami reminded Usagi. That seemed to dim the blonde enough to the point where it was now safe to regard her directly without burning your retinas.

"I'll see you guys later!" Usagi yelled as she suddenly took off towards the shrine. She was soon a speck on the horizon with dust trailing after her.

"I can't even run that fast." Joram said completely stunned. Usagi never ceased to amaze him one way or another. In this case though it was the "another" category. Sigh.

"Well, let's get going!" Makoto said as she took Joram's arm and dragged him off with Ami following, feeling like the third wheel.

Once there Joram stood in shock. "What enchantment this place has...."

"It's amazing isn't it?" Makoto said as she proceeded to drag him into their favourite arcade. By this time the only reason Ami was still there was the prospect of studying Joram some more. With Makoto distracting him, it seemed like she might get some good readings.

Makoto explained how the whole process worked to our clueless hero. How you put a bill into that machine by the door to get coins that you would then have to put into the slot of the machine you wanted to play. You would then have to use that stick in combination with the buttons to make the really small person in the machine to do what you wanted them to do. All in all, a lot less complicated than performing jutsu. He was now able to make that Magneto guy do some very nasty combinations. Unfortunately that Spiderman guy was really fast, so he had to be very careful.

Makoto was having lots of fun watching as Joram really started to get into playing Marvel Superheroes. After a short while she decided to join in and teach him how to really play. Eventually a small crowd began to gather to watch them duke it out. Joram spent much money combating Psylocke under the control of Makoto. Eventually though he managed to win one. A little while later he won another. Soon they were fighting one another until the time limit was up, which frustrated many people because the one or the other player would sometimes be making a comeback and the time limit would interrupt them. After a while though Ami had gotten all the readings she needed from Joram. Or rather, all the readings she could get from him playing video games. He was very smart and adapted to new situations quickly, but it seemed that video games weren't going to be his forte if he could only get up to Makoto's skill level when playing. After all, Ami could beat Makoto when they played against each other.

At the conclusion of yet another lost battle, Joram stood up from the stool and stretched. "Wow, that is an amazing game. But now I'm hungry. You guys want to come and get something to eat with me?"

"Sorry, I would love to, but I've got to study tonight before I go to bed." Ami said apologetically.

"Why don't we stop by the store and pick up some food? That way we can cook something and relax this evening?" Makoto suggested. If he could sample her cooking there would be no way he would want to move out. Little did she know, but she was blushing while small horns appeared on her head and her eyes got that weird arch to them that told you a person was thinking mischievous and naughty thoughts.

"Sure, sounds good. But we'll go to Ucchan's tomorrow, ok?" Joram said as they exited the arcade.

"I'll see you two tomorrow then!" Ami said as she hurried off. Things were looking up for her friend. Maybe the two of them would hook up? That would definitely ground the Senshi of thunder.

"Bye!" The two of them said at the same time then headed off in the other direction. They chatted of inconsequential things as they made their way to the grocery store to buy some food for their evening meal. Joram was amazed at the variety of foods and other oddities found in this market place. There were fresh vegetables, fruit, breads, fish, meats and much more. All in the same place! This was definitely one of the best things he had seen yet. No more would he have to run all over town just to get the proper things he needed to cook a goods meal. Since Makoto still had all the money from the other night she paid the bill and they headed out.

"Hey, let's stop by the video store and pick up a movie." Makoto said enthusiastically. Joram just shrugged because he didn't know what a video was and went along with her. She then spent the next ten minutes or so humming and hahing over which movie to get. They were apparently small boxed thingies. He didn't know why she was so excited about it all, but again he went along with it. She picked up one called Robin Hood. Why she wanted to get something about a girl named Robin who wore a hood was beyond him though.

Soon enough they were back at the apartment and Makoto started to cook something called stir fry. It smelled really good, and by the time she was done cooking he was ready to start eating his boots he was so hungry. The wait proved to have been a good decision because the stir fry tasted amazing. They started to eat as she popped a shiny disk into a flat black box. She then activated the scrying box, she called it a TV, and people appeared on the "screen". Upon his freak-out she had to "pause" the movie and explain how movies worked. That took another hour or so, and at the end she just told him to shut up and watch the movie. He did.

By the end of it he was jumping around and cheering for Robin, who actually turned out to be a guy, and cursing the sheriff of Nottingham. She still had to restrain him at one point when he saw the witch perform her foul magic for he was about to thrust his sword through the screen to stop her. This caused yet another lecture.

After that lecture though Makoto got him to sit beside her again and tried to subtly get closer to him so that she could lean on him. This proved difficult though. Joram was one of those very-active-movie-watchers and wouldn't sit still long enough for her to execute her plan properly. This proved so frustrating for her that she made him sit on the floor for the last half hour of the move so she could stretch out on the couch and try to enjoy the last bit of the movie. Unfortunately this proved to be a poor decision on her part for she soon fell asleep.

"Wow that was a great story Makoto." Joram said happily as he turned to speak with her. "Ah, fell asleep did we?" He asked as he picked her up, gently cradling her in his arms as he headed for her bedroom. She mumbled something about playing twister with some jello with him. He didn't know what either was, but he would have to remember to ask her when she woke up. He then laid her down on her bed and proceeded to take her socks and sweater off. It was good she was a deep sleeper; it made his job a lot easier. He then pulled the covers up, tucker her in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She smiled in her sleep and curled up as she rolled over.

The next morning Makoto awoke feeling well rested. She smiled as she rolled over remembering the pleasant dreams she'd had of Joram coming to her rescue when she was in trouble. Admittedly, she was the strong type girl who was very independent and liked to rely on her own strength in a fight, but she also liked to fantasize of being rescued on the occasion. Even she had a soft spot for those kinds of dreams. Then something occurred to her as she reached over and turned her alarm off.

Why was she in bed? She could have sworn that she had fallen asleep on the couch right about the time when Robin Hood was heading to the castle to save his captured friends. When she sat up she realized something else; she was no longer wearing her sweater. At his point her eyes bug out and she wraps her blanket around herself tightly. She still had her bra on, but she wasn't' going to take any chances. With a worried look on her face she looks underneath the covers to check on the status of her pants. Check, still there. Her socks were gone, but her pants were still on. Whew.

Makoto sits there for a couple of minutes trying to figure out how he had gotten her to her be without her waking up. It's a losing battle by the time she is dressed and heading to the kitchen to make breakfast. She stops dead as she sees Joram doing and handstand in the living room without a shirt on. She could see his finely shaped back as he started to do push-ups from that position. She stood there completely amazed at what she was seeing for a good ten minutes before she gives herself a shake and hurries past him into the kitchen and starts to cook up the leftovers from the night before. It wouldn't make the best breakfast, but she had wasted too much time this morning to bother making a proper one. Heck, she didn't even have time to make her lunch she was so behind schedule.

"Joram! Breakfast time." She said as she hurriedly served up two plates.

"Thanks!" Joram said as he made his way to the table. He again had his hair up in that high pony tail he preferred and a towel around his neck. "I'm really hungry after this mornings' workout." He said as he dug into the food with abandon.

"No problem, but will you be ready to leave in ten minutes?" She asked as she did her best impersonation of Usagi after having missed lunch. She really hated not being able to take a shower first thing in the morning, but she really had no time today.

"Yeah, but how about you? Will you be able to get ready in time? Don't you still have to have a shower before you go?" That's what she had done the day before after all. He hadn't been awake at the time, but he could smell it when he had woken up.

"I just don't have time this morning. I really don't want to be late." She said as she finished off her breakfast.

"I have that flying carpet, remember? It will only take us five minutes to get there." Joram said as he too finished eating. Makoto sat there and looked very undecided, even going as far as to chew her lower lip.

"Ok!" She said as she jumped to her feet and raced to the bathroom. Joram grinned and started to clean up. He was a quick study, so it didn't take him too long to have the kitchen mostly cleaned by the time Makoto ran from the bathroom to her bedroom with a towel around herself. That caught his attention. She really was a very good looking girl, and she did look the same age as he. Good thing they didn't really know how old he really was or they might think him some old pervert or something for hanging around with them. Not even a minute later Makoto emerged from her room at a run and headed to the front door to put her shoes on.

"Hurry Joram. We can do the dishes later." Joram shrugged in reply and went over and pulled on a t-shirt and his Dragon Silk armour. She then took his shoulder satchel and pulled on his boots at the door. "We really need to get you some normal footwear Joram, those just look way too old fashioned." She said as she pulled him out the front door and locked it.

"I was kind of thinking I would have to update my wardrobe. That's why I went to this place called Armani's to get some new clothes. I still have to get some good boots though." Joram said as they took the elevator down to the main floor.

"Armani's?!" She managed to choke out. That place was expensive! But very nice. She again pictured him in an Armani suit all done up. She drooled briefly before she got control of herself again. "That should do nicely." She said as she then began to imagine all the looks she would get with her on his arm.

"That's good." Joram said as he let the way to an alley beside the apartment building and pulled the flying carpet out. "Shall we?" He asked with a grin that promised much fun.

"Let's." She said as she again hopped on behind Joram and hugged him tight. Man this felt good! She thought to herself as they shot straight up into the sky. She mourned the fact that she seemed to have left her stomach behind, but soon forgot all about it as it then proved that it was indeed there when the carpet shot forward and it slammed into her spine. Nope. Stir fry for breakfast was definitely not a good idea.

As promised they arrived at the school in time. It had only taken three minutes this time. As Joram lowered the carpet he had his Dragon Silk take form of the suits he was having made so that he could show Makoto when they landed. He helped her off the carpet because she didn't seem all too steady on her feet for some reason. She stood there for a minute hugging him while her world realigned itself. It was not a pleasant experience. She let go real quick when she got a poke in the side.

"Nice to see you two getting along so well, but you'd better hurry or you'll be late." Minako said as she then rushed off ahead of her best friend. Why did she get all the hunky guys after her? She asked herself as she glanced over her shoulder at the two of them standing by each other.

"Uh, I'd better go." Makoto said as she started to hurry off.

"I'll come by at about noon to bring you lunch, ok?" Joram yelled after her as she vanished into the school. The only response he got from her was a wave of the hand. He sighed. She hadn't noticed the outfit.

"HiJoramnicetoseeyouthismorning!" Usagi said as she raced by kicking up a cloud of dust as she went by. Joram just shook his head. She was definitely in better shape than he had originally assed her at to be able to run that fast. Shaking his head he hopped back onto the carpet and flew back to the apartment. Once there though he realized that Makoto had her keys with her. Looking around, Joram decided to take the carpet up to her window to see if it was still open.

Grinning to himself he let himself in and headed for the shower. It was good that neither of them had locked the thing or he would have been in some trouble. Once he finished off in the bathroom he hopped to the window and jumped out as he unfurled the carpet and sped off. He still had a bit of shopping to do before he bought some lunch and went to Juban High.

"So where did you meet a hunk like him?" Was the sum of the questions she endured up until she made a break for it at lunch. Minako managed to keep on her trail as Makoto made her way to the roof to get some quiet. Minako secretly called the rest of the group from the stairwell before she too ventured forth onto the school's roof.

"You don't look so good Mako-chan." Minako said as she followed her friend to the far edge of the rooftop.

"I never thought so many people would harass me like this." She said in frustration as she sat down and leaned against the chain link fence that kept clumsy students from falling off.

"Well that's what you get for pouncing on him so fast." Minako said as she too sat down. "Anyway, you want some of my lunch? Doesn't look like you had time to make any this morning." That last bit was said with a smirk. She really wanted to know what Joram was doing to her friend to throw her off like this.

"No. Joram said he would bring me something for lunch." Makoto said absently while staring at the school grounds below her. The other two friends arrived then and they waved their greetings as they approached.

"So, why did you run off so fast Mako-chan?" Usagi asked with narrowed eyes and some nudges with her elbow to Makoto's ribs.

"I just couldn't stand all those people nagging me anymore." She almost pouted. "It was really starting to get on my nerves." This last part was said with clenched fist and Usagi backed away quickly fearing that her friend might commit an act of violence on her person.

"Oh just get over it. It's not like you've never had a boyfriend before. And since when did you start to care about what others said?" These surprising remarks from Ami made everyone stare at her in shock even though it was said as though she weren't really paying attention to the conversation in the first place. That was an amazingly straightforward thing for the Senshi of Mercury to say.

"...." Was all Makoto could think so say in response to that. She had never heard Ami like this before.

"What's up guys?" Came Joram's voice from above. That just about gave everyone a heart attack. "I've got lunch if y' all're hungry." He said as the carpet dropped to the rooftop. He then hopped off to bring them the food.

Usagi drooled at the pizzas as he laid them out for them to take their pick. The two who actually still had their lunches looked at them remorsefully as the others started to eat the pizza.

"What are you two waiting for, eat up!" Joram said jovially as she pushed a box over to Ami and Minako. They smiled and said their thanks as they too dug into the tasty western food.

"So what did you do this morning Joram?" Makoto asked as she finished yet another slice of the "Canadian" pizza.

"Oh, I went to buy some new shoes." Joram said as he stuck a foot out for them to see. They were large, black combat boots that went well up his calf. "I figured that since I'll be in this city of pavement I should get something that protects a little better than the thin leather boots I had before."

"Very nice." Minako murmured around a slice of "Hawaiian" pizza.

"Is that one of the jackets you designed?" Ami asked as she pointed out the coat he was wearing. The Dragon Silk was still in the same form as that morning.

"Ah, yes it is. What do you think?" He said as he stood up and turned around for them to see.

"It's, uh...." Minako said, or tried to say. She couldn't quite get around the fact that he looked like some sort of manga character with that jacket on.

"Very nice." Makoto finished for her while the others were trying to think of something, anything, to say.

"Thanks! I wanted the shoulders to be more loose than the others that I'd seen at the store. You can't get proper shoulder movement with those, and I really need that if I'm to swing a sword around effectively." Joram finished as he demonstrated the range of movement available with the jacket, though he didn't actually pull out a sword. Three of the four girls sweat-dropped. They really needed to introduce him to mangas and anime.

"Joram, why is there a tire mark on your back?" Ami asked as he turned around once again before sitting down.

"Eh?" Joram asked as he looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a mark on the back of the coat. He concentrated for half a second and it disappeared. "I think that's from when that girl landed on me again."

Even though the four friends were sitting, the face faulted.

"Who landed on you with a bike?!" Makoto asked angrily. She would get whoever had done that to him.

"So that's what that thing is called? A bike." Joram tasted the word a bit while once again the girls sweat-drop.

"Who?" Makoto nudged.

"Oh, I think she said her name was Shaving Cream, or what it Soap..." Insert larger sweat-drop. "Uh, maybe Conditioner? Oh yeah! Shampoo! She said that her and her great-grandmother had a restaurant and that I should drop by sometime. She said it was called the Neko-something-or-other." Joram said as he pulled the flyer out of a pocket. He couldn't read it so he handed it off to Ami because she was the closest.

"Cat Café. Seems to be in Nerima." Ami said as she read the flyer. "Seems that this is a two-for-one coupon." She said as she handed it back to him.

"Ooh, we should go after school and check it out!" Usagi said enthusiastically. Makoto looked at her as though she had a screw loose, Minako shrugged, as did Ami.

"Then it's settled! We'll all go after school and check the place out." Joram said happily. "Do any of you know how to get a hold of Rei? She should come too." Joram said, but before anyone could answer they all heard screams from below. As one they stood up and grabbed the fence as they looked down to see another youma reaping havoc in the middle of the schoolyard. This one looked as though it were made of iron though, and a female design to boot. This wizard had issues.

Joram recognized the thing instantly, but never would have expected to see one of them in this day and age. Iron golems were very hard to make and took months of work. Why would a wizard send it out into public? Not thinking overly much about it, Joram took his swords from his satchel and buckled them on.

"I'll have fun with this one for a bit. You all can sit back and let the food digest." Joram said as he hopped to the top of the fence.

"But this is what we're here to do!" Usagi pouted.

Joram didn't listen as he jumped from the fence straight at the golem bringing his katana to bear. He was very surprised when the golem spun around and swatted him out of the air like a fly. It hurt, but not that bad. He heard the girls on the roof scream out in fright as they watched him get smacked down. Joram twisted in the air and landed on his feet sliding back a couple of yards.

"Now, now. Why would I go and under-estimate another opponent like that?" Joram asks himself as regards that golem that has now turned its attention on him instead of sucking the chakra out of people. Joram performed a jutsu as the golem started to walk towards him. When he finished there was only a stirring of the grass around him to let someone know that he had done something. He then channelled some chakra into his diadem. This did two things: fist was that he got stronger, much stronger; the second thing was that he got faster. He grinned as the golem raised a fist to pound him into the ground. This fist never contacted him.

The youma backed off for a second to re-evaluate the situation. When it had punched at the insolent human sand, dirt, twigs, leaves and other things that had been on the ground had intercepted her fist and stopped it dead. That had never happened before. She had always been able to punch through anything and her inability to do so with this strangely grinning human made her nervous.

Joram on the other had felt his confidence rise. It was quick, but not as strong as it should have been. He then grinned. "I know you don't care Ms. Golem lady, but your existence it about to end." Joram then twirled into action using both swords to attack. The golem responded by pulling out its own huge sword to defend, but to no avail. Joram quickly overwhelmed the poor creature. First he took off bits of its armour as it tried to defend, then its arm as it ventured to attack.

Soon it had no arms and was trying to back away from this creature in front of her. A human should not be able to move like that. What had she stumbled into? She grinned though as the human stopped in front of her to say good-bye. She opened her mouth and began to drain his life force out of him in torrents.

"Wow, look at him go!" Minako exclaimed as she watched Joram turn into a human blender.

"I'm suddenly glad that he didn't use his swords the other night." Ami said as she watched him flow seamlessly from one attack to another almost faster than she could follow. Good thing she had taken out her computer and was recording the whole fight.

They all watched in awe as he disarmed the youma, literally, and beat it up a little before stopping so say something. Just then the youma opened its' mouth and began to drain the life force out of him and regenerate its' wounds. Instantly the four Sailor Senshi were transforming in their flashy manner. Soon four defenders of love and justice were standing on the rooftop and ready to jump into the fight when Joram did something unexpected. He started to laugh.

To say that he was shocked would have been an understatement. He had never run into anything that sucked the chakra right out of him. Undead tried to snuff it out, but that was different. This was like being sucked back like a pint of beer. Then something occurred to him. What happened when you tried to drink too fast? That made him laugh.

This golem was sucking the chakra out of him at a steady rate, but the flow was negligible to him. He opened the canal, if you will, and let the chakra flow. The golem got this weird look on its' face as the chakra hit it. It looked ecstatic and frightened all at once. Its' wounds healed up and its' arms grew back.

Joram now concentrated on his palm. It began to grow very brightly as chakra became visible, swirling around faster and faster. The chaotic ball of chakra grew in size and intensity as he used his katana as the focus it was meant to be. Jirin had truly made a marvel when he had crafted the swords for him. Not only were they powerful weapons, but they served to amplify any jutsu that he used when he concentrated through one of the swords. The damage co-efficient of any jutsu multiplied three-fold. The look of terror on the golems' face was priceless. Mainly because golems weren't meant to have emotion. That still struck him as odd as he yelled "Rasengan!" and shoved his fist into its' torso.

It was eerily quiet for a moment as light began for come from the seams and cracks in the golem, then there was a huge explosion that shook the ground and rattled the windows alarmingly. Bits of the iron golem no larger than a hundred yen piece rained down on the scene for the next few moments as the dust cloud slowly settled.

When the cloud dissipated everyone who had been watching the fight with bated breath finally took a breath of relief when they saw Joram still standing there with no sign of the youma. Cheers of relief and joy could be heard throughout the school grounds as people began to come out of the school to congratulate the hero of the day. But they weren't the first ones to get there for the Sailor Senshi had jumped from the roof to surround the young man that had come to the rescue.

"That was amazing Joram!" Jupiter said and clapped him on the back when she got close enough. He fell over and landed hard, not even twitching when he hit ground.

"Oh my Kami! You killed Joram!" Sailor Moon shrieked and fainted on the spot. Makoto looked as though she might faint as well. The crowd of people were staying back, unsure of what was going on, and not willing to be in the way of another explosion if something did happen.

"Don't worry, he's just unconscious. I'm surprised that he was able to keep on his feet at all with that blast." Mercury said as she dismissed her visor as she finished her scans of Joram. "He just needs a bit of bed rest to recover."

"...." Jupiter was still shocked.

"Well, let's get him to the nurse's office so he can rest shall we?" Venus said because nobody seemed to be doing anything useful. Shaking her head she stepped forward and carefully re-sheathed Joram's katana before she picked him up. This seems to bring Jupiter back from la-la land and she gives a start. By this time though, Venus has Joram in her arms and is reconsidering carrying him. He was much heavier than he looked. With a rueful smile she hands him off to Jupiter, somewhat regretful that she wasn't strong enough to carry the gorgeous man.

"Let's get going." Mercury said as she helped Sailor Moon to her feet. She was still sobbing quietly even though Ami had reassured her that Joram would be fine. They made their way through the crowds of people and into the school. The spotted the nurse on the way and had her go on ahead to prepare a bed for him. When they got there the only thing they needed to do was lay him on the bed and take off before the crowd gathered up enough courage to start asking them for autographs.

The nurse, her name was Kitsuna Aika, was now having a good day. She had been expecting to have to treat a dozen or so students because that youma had shown up, but now she only had one young man that just needed some rest. He was oddly dressed, but that didn't matter, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He had raven black hair with a bluish hue to it that was pulled up into a ponytail that sat at the crown of his head. His shoulders were very broad and he looked to be in extremely good shape.

She went over to him and unbuckled his swords so that he could rest easier, but was stopped when his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. This caused her to yelp in surprise and her heart to skip a beat. She relaxed again when he didn't actually wake up and proceeded to put the swords at his bedside, let his hair down and do a quick check over for any broken bones. Yeah, looking for broken bones.... She then pulled up a chair so that she could watch him in his sleep.

She was twenty one and still single. She sighed. If this man were only a couple years older she might have gone for him. But he just looked too young to her; only in first year university or so. She sighed again. She was just too shy to be able to find a guy, even a younger guy. So she just sat there and watched him as he slept and was amazed to watch the couple of scrapes he had gotten from the fight heal right in front of her eyes. She had never seen something like this before. It was absolutely amazing.

So it was that scene that Makoto, Minako, Ami and Usagi walked in on. Makoto's eyebrow twitched slightly at the sight of the nurse leaning over Joram's bed, her back to the rest of the room. She cleared her throat, loudly. That seemed to get the nurse's immediate attention for she jumped about a foot in the air at the sound. It was really quite something to see; the meek and timid nurse, whose name nobody could remember, doing what looked like some sort of aerial attack. Then that illusion was shattered when she landed unceremoniously on her but with a squeak.

"Uh, hi. We were just wondering how Joram was doing." Ami said for the group. She really didn't trust Makoto to speak at that moment.

"Oh, yes. The Sailor Senshi came in and dropped him off. His name is Joram? He is really quite something. You wouldn't believe it but I just watched as his wounds healed right up in front of my eyes!" She said excitedly and she pushed her glasses back up her nose and tried to regain some dignity by rearranging her clothes.

"Really? My mother is a doctor, and I have never heard of someone healing that fast." Ami said as she went to Joram's side and stealthily pulled out the Mercury computer to do a quick scan.

The other girls caught on to what she was trying to do, well not Usagi anyway, and began to ask the poor nurse twenty questions all at once.

"....no, it seems that he was only knocked unconscious by the concussive force of that explosion...." and "....no, he doesn't have any broken bones; just a few scratches...." were some of the answers that she managed to get out as she was bombarded with questions. A couple of minutes later Joram said up.

"Yawn!" He yawned. "That was a great nap!" He said as he pulled out his fine pocket watch. The nurse noticed it and almost began to drool. Not only is he probably the most handsome man she had ever seen, but it looked as though he was loaded.

"Shouldn't you all be in class?" Joram asked as he looked around the room at the four girls gathered.

"We were given this period off while the administration tries to get everything back into order." Minako said as she too approached Joram. He looked really good with his hair down like that.

"You would think that no one would be phased by yet another youma appearing seeing as how they just tend to pop up every now and then." Ami said as she put away the Mercury computer. She was kind of annoyed at the moment. Not only did she miss getting readings from Joram when he was healing at that advanced rate, but she was missing a class.

"Well, wasn't that nice of them." Joram said happily. "So, we're still good to go to that Cat Café after school?"

"We sure are!" Usagi piped in bouncing up and down. Joram quickly looked away because gravity was doing interesting things to the young lady as she bounced.

"That's great. I'll see you all after school. I think I'll continue my nap now." He said with a big grin and rolled over. Everyone in the room sweat-dropped at this. Though the nurse got a grin on her face. Fortunately the others were too distracted to notice it though, or she might have found herself in a precarious situation. At length the girls left the room and went back to the roof to gather the bags and such that they had left behind when they had jumped down to help Joram.

A minute or so after the girls left Joram sat up again and regarded the nurse. "So, what is someone like you doing in a place like this?" Joram asked, looking quite serious.

"What do you mean?" She asked nervously as she twittered with her long white coat.

"I didn't think of find someone trained like I was trained in this day and age." Joram said as he swung his legs over the bed so that he could regard her directly. Her nervousness seemed to dissipate like fog on a hot sunny day. She stood straighter and with more confidence. That meant that she now looked confident enough to venture out into the wide, scary world instead of wanting to hide under the bed.

"What do you know of my training?" She asked calmly. Well, calmly for her anyway. To Joram she seemed like someone about to run.

"Trained in chakra use, ninja stuff, you know; all the fun stuff." Joram said with a grin as he put his swords back into his shoulder satchel for safe keeping. "I noticed your larger than average chakra reserves when I grabbed your wrist earlier."

"So what do you plan on doing now Mr. Shinobi?" She asked as she backed away from him. There were many shinobi out there that didn't get along too well, and she didn't want to be cornered by one that might want to do her in. She had had to deal with that once before, and she really didn't want to have to deal with it again if she could help it.

"What clan were you trained in?" He asked simply.

"Konoha, the Hidden Leaf." She said as she casually reached into her coat pocket where she kept a couple of kunai just in case.

"Wow, really?!" Joram said excitedly. "The clan survived after all this time?" He jumped to his feet and did a little jig he was so happy. "I didn't think it would have survived after all these years." Poor Aika just face faulted at the sight. She had been expecting to have to fight for her life and instead she was privy to the sight of this Joram character doing a jig.

"What are you talking about?" She asked the strange man in front of her as he stopped his jig and stood there grinning. "You look several years younger than me, and I have never seen you before."

"Oh, I had an accident a while back." Joram said rather lamely. "I just got back a few days ago."

"What kind of accident?" She asked curiously. She didn't know why, but she felt she could trust this stranger. It was the oddest feeling really.

"Oh, you know; interrupt a wizard's portal spell and get sucked in and find yourself in another time." Joram said with a shrug. "But more importantly; what ranking do you hold in your village? Are you a genin, chonin or what?"

"Ah, just a genin." She said. This fellow was definitely odd.

"A genin? Well, you will have to do some more training to get up to snuff. It's your lucky day. I will train you!" Joram said as he posed sideways sticking his arm out and giving her a thumbs up. She sweat dropped.

"I left the village because I wanted to lead a normal life, not because I wanted to do some out of village training." She explained to the overenthusiastic hunk in front of her.

"Ah, I see. I have known several shinobi that wanted to do the same." Joram said as she nodded to himself. "Well, since you are a nurse, I shall teach you a jutsu that will allow you to do your job better." He said as he motioned her over. She came over somewhat hesitantly.

"Now, this is just a simple healing jutsu. It will repair broken skin and bones, as well as torn muscles." He said as he pulled a blank scroll from his shoulder satchel and began looking for his ink and quill. Aika handed him a pen. He looked at it curiously.

"Just take the cap off and write." She said in exasperation. Man, he must really be from a long ways off not to know how to use a pen. Joram nodded and did as instructed. Soon he had all the hand seals written down and a detailed diagram drawn up showing her how to mould and channel her chakra so she could perform the jutsu.

"It might take you a while to get it down, but once you do it will be a huge help. I can't tell you how many peoples' lives I've saved with this simple jutsu over the years." He said as he handed her the scroll. She looked it over and just stared. This was the most complicated jutsu she had ever seen, or rather, been allowed to learn. And he called it simple.

"Well I should get going. I have a few more errands to run before I have to pick the girls up for dinner. What did you say your name was again?" He asked as he headed for the door.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for being so rude. My name is Kitsuna Aika. Pleased to meet you." She said with a bow.

"My name is Joram. Pleased to meet you." He said as he returned the bow.

"I look forward to speaking with you again Joram-sama." She said as he opened the door to leave.

"Sure. If you ever want to contact me, just speak with Makoto. You know, the tall one with brown hair." He said as he left. She sat down on the edge of the bed when he left and had to wonder; who was that guy? This jutsu was something a chonin might have had problems with, and he had just drawn it out for her like it was nothing. She sighed. Maybe he was one of those guys that hardly aged as they grew up. That would explain why he was so knowledgeable. She then began imagining the two of them spending more and more time together and she blushed. He was really quite something to look at.

"So, Rei said she would meet us there?" Joram asked as they all hopped on a bus to head over to the Cat Café for dinner. Joram was only asking them the question to distract himself. He really wanted to take this bus apart so that he could find out how it worked. His fingers began to twitch.

"Yeah, she said that she had to take care of something first then would meet us there." Minako said from his side. This bus was quite packed, and there was very little to no personal space to be had.

"I wouldn't worry, she is usually much better at getting somewhere on time than Usagi is." Makoto said from in front of him. She was pressed up against his chest in a rather alarming manner, and it was all he could do to keep to the calming meditative techniques he had learned long ago. Usagi wasn't present though, which was odd. Ami had explained that she had tried to invite Mamoru along but he had flat out refused and even managed to get her to stay with him that evening instead of going somewhere with Joram in the group.

"That's good to hear." Joram said somewhat stiffly. The swaying and bobbing of the bus was doing interesting things to him with three girls pressed up against him. Calming, meditative techniques. "So, does anyone know what the weather will be like today?" He asked.

"Well the forecast said that there would be a twenty percent chance of light showers this evening. So I would guess that there will be a heavy downpour." Ami said as she held up her umbrella.

"Good to know." Minako said somewhat sarcastically. She didn't think her white blouse would be up to an evening in the pouring rain.

"Great. Maybe we can find a shop with some umbrellas before we go for dinner." Makoto suggested as she pressed into Joram when the bus stopped suddenly.

She quickly looked up into his eyes to gauge his reaction, and if she hadn't really been looking for something she might have missed his faint blush. She grinned to herself. Then the bus driver's voice comes over the intercom telling them that they would have to catch another route because one of the crazy martial artists of the area just blew a hole in the middle of the road. Joram tried to look around to spot the person he had felt using that much chakra, but there were just too many people around.

Soon enough all the passengers that were on the bus are now standing on the street corner just up the block waiting for another bus to come by. Joram and friends take another route, and soon they are flying through the night sky on his magic carpet. Surprisingly enough it was Minako that got stuck the farthest away from Joram as they flew through the sky. Ami had jumped onto the carpet so fast that it was all Makoto could do to get her seat behind Joram before Minako could beat her to it. So Minako was stuck holding onto her two friends instead of the hunk the whole ride to the Cat Café. She pouted.

Ami soon pointed out the little restaurant as they approached. She had studied the area very well before the outing just in case they had to get somewhere quickly. They landed in they alley beside the restaurant so that they wouldn't cause too much of a commotion and then proceeded into the Cat Café with the newly acquired Rei. They were all surprised to learn that the Café was pretty full and would have to wait for a bit to get a table. That didn't detour Joram though, the food smelled really good. So they waited near the front of the restaurant for a bit until the pretty blue-haired girl came over to see if she could help them.

"It's ok Shampoo, we'll wait for a couple of tables to open up." Joram said.

"Its ok, those people leave soon, they been here too too long already." Shampoo said cutely as she pointed to a corner of guys that were pretty much just watching her and the red haired girl serve the food. "I get them out." She nodded to herself as she went over to the table and asked them to pay their bill and go, and to have a nice day. For some reason they all paled somewhat when she asked and ran over to the cash register where, what looked like, a mummified monkey with long hair was standing on a tall staff. Three of the four girls with Joram cringed back from the sight. Ami on the other hand had her computer out yet again and was taking scans of the phenomenon as they took their seats. The mummified monkey thing pogo'd over to the food preparation area as a young fellow with long black hair and white robes stood up rubbing his head.

"Put your glasses on Mouse. I don't want to have to come over there again." The monkey thing cackled as it threw together dishes of food at amazing speeds. It would then throw the food to one of the girls, either Shampoo or the red-head, who would then serve it to one of the customers either waiting at a table or for take-out. It was all very high energy and the poor Sailor Senshi were getting tired just watching them go. After only five minutes or so the red-head came over to take their order.

"So, what'll you all have?" She asked almost rudely and got a serving tray thrown into the back of her head for it. She spun around and yelled at the monkey thing. "What did'ya do that for you old ghoul?!" She then sent the tray back at the monkey thing at high speeds, but it was caught out of the air like a frisbee thrown at a leisurely pace.

"You have to learn some more manners son-in-law. We don't want people saying that the service was poor here, do we?" It then laughed, or maybe it really was more of a cackle, and threw five more bowls of ramen at the red-headed girl who caught them all easily and quickly took them to the appropriate tables then came back.

"Sorry 'bout that. The old ghoul works me like a slave. Anyway, what would you like to order?" She stood there with a pencil and notepad ready to take their order. When she realized that they were all still staring at her with dumbfounded expressions on their faces she muttered "newbies" and turned to grab a couple of menus for them to look at. It only took a couple of minutes to decide for the girls, unfortunately for Joram he still couldn't read. He knew of a spell that allowed him to read languages he didn't already know, but he hadn't as yet had the time to memorize it. That, and the duration of the spell wasn't all that long. So Makoto just showed him the pictures of some of the dishes and told him what was on each of them. It was easy from there on out. He ordered five deluxe ramen just for himself.

Now Joram is used to being stared at like he's crazy every time he orders that much food for just himself, so he was a little... shocked?... that the red-head didn't even bat an eyelash at how much he ordered.

"Say, we didn't catch your name. Mine is Joram." Joram said with his usual grin.

The red-head looked at him a bit funny, but just shrugged and said: "I'm Saotome Ranma, pleased to meet you." Then headed off to place their order.

"Hmm...." Joram hmm'd.

"What?" Minako asked, "Are you checking out that Ranma girl?" Insert mischievous glint in eye. Makoto turns and regards him with a cold look.

"No, I was just thinking that that girl must be a really good martial artist is all!" Joram explained frantically.

"Uh, huh...." Minako says to egg on the conversation and her friend. It's not a good thing that she has been somewhat bored these past few days. That, and she was really used to having guys notice her first.

Insert death glare from Makoto to Joram.

"I'm serious! Just look how she moves." Now Joram was almost begging. Almost. He would never beg. No he wouldn't.

"Yeah, we can all see how well she moves." Makoto said in a frosty tone of voice that reminded him of the arctic wastes he had gone to once to take care of a white dragon. It had been a good fight; he had only died once.

"I-uh-bah!" Joram just gave up at that point, picked up the napkin holder and whipped it at the red-head to prove his point. He wasn't disappointed. Just when he was beginning to think that it actually would hit her in the head, she spun around, knocked it into the air with her elbow (for she was holding two trays at the time), did a quick spin kick and launched it back at his face. He didn't manage to catch it in time and took it full in the face. After a few seconds the metal napkin holder fell to the table to reveal a large red welt forming diagonally across his face.

"That hurt you know." Joram told the girls who were now laughing at him hysterically. The red-head came over after having dropped her orders off.

"So what'd you do that for, huh?" Ooh, she was angry enough that her short braid was sticking on end.

"These young ladies wouldn't believe me when I said that I thought you were a good martial artist, so I threw this thing at you." Joram said and picked up the now misshapen napkin holder to demonstrate his point.

"Damn right I'm a good martial artist. I'm the best." She said smugly with a smirk and was promptly smacked across the back of her head by the monkey mommy with the large staff.

"Not yet you aren't son-in-law." She said as she hopped away on her staff.

"...grumblegrumble...mummified...grindgrind...demonmonkey...." Ranma grumbled. "Anyway, yeah, I'm a good martial artist. Do you practice the Art too?" She asked with some interest which earned Joram a glare from Makoto.

"Yeah, a little. Nothing huge though; I'm better with a sword." Joram said as the heat began to flow in waves. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Ranma didn't seem the notice the look Joram was getting from Makoto. Rei started to give him the death-ray gaze as well which really made him feel uncomfortable. Why were they acting like this? He was just chatting with someone about one of his hobbies?

"Anyway," Joram said trying to save vs. death, "Would you like to spar sometime? I haven't had a decent sparring partner in quite some time." Joram asked as innocently as he could.

"Sure, sounds fun." She said brightly. "Just don't go easy on me 'cause I'm a girl or nothin. I'm really a guy."

Insert jaw drop.

End.

Authors Notes:

Now, some of you are probably wondering why I have done certain things like I have. Don't worry, it will all be explained soon. And for the people who may think Joram is a little too tough, well, he has had a couple hundred years of practice.... That, and he just plain got lucky. The NWC will be an interesting experience for him.

If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to email me. I'm still trying to work things out for the story, so please bear with me. This is after all, my first fanfic type story. Well, my first story that lasted more than a few pages at least....

email:

Nov. 16, 2004.

Oh, and I don't own any of the anime type characters in this story. You can blame someone else for them. Though I do take full responsibility for the AD&D type characters, for they are my creations.