Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon
Part3-
October 10,
#All is at peace. Too at peace if you ask me. It has been two months since I talked to Rei. We agreed to keep our little conversation to ourselves. Since then nothing much had happened. I had to change schools. For some reason the present one that I am enrolled had been destroyed by an unknown force. Naturally, I would assume that the organization found me, but word has it that it was destroyed by a monster that the Sailor Soldiers were fighting. I have moved to a school named Juuban. It has been a month before I got a reply. I'm starting this week, although I am not sure what to expect.#
Nathaniel looked up and saw Haruka and Michiru standing near the railing of the pier. He closed the journal he is writing on and silently walked away from the two lovers.
*****
about a month ago.
" What happened here!?" Nathaniel exclaimed, not really expecting an answer. He was standing in front of Mugen academy, which now was destroyed. Thousands of reason flooded Nathaniel's mind, some he knew was unimaginable.
" They saw that the Sailor Soldiers fought a demon here," a voice said. He turned around to look at the speaker. It was Ken, his hand were in his pockets, looking at his school now a pile of rubble. " I really liked that school."
Nathaniel looked around, searching the crowd person by person. " Where's Haruka?" Ken looked at him and answered.
" She's with Michiru, last time I saw them."
"She?" Nathaniel blinked in surprise. Thinking that Ken made an error in his vocabulary.
"Yes. She," he looked at him and saw his puzzled expression. " You didn't know?" slowly he shook his head. Ken sighed and elaborated. " Remember the first time you came here and I said it's a waste," he nodded and Ken went on. " It's a waste because that Haruka, although beautiful in a sense, likes girls instead of boys."
"You. why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I felt that it doesn't matter."
" Doesn't matter?! I must have looked like a fool," he was kind of feeling embarrassed.
" If it eases your ego, you're not the only one," Ken walked back to his limo leaving a confused Nathaniel behind.
now.
In the park near the lake, Chibiusa and Hotaru were sitting beneath a tree, enjoying the peacefulness of the day. " Hey look, Chibiusa. A pretty butterfly." she said to her friend.
" Let's catch it," she said. They got up an tried to catch the butterfly. Running, they were unsuccessful in catching it. " Chibiusa! Wait up!" Hotaru called out. But she was determined to catch it. She went around the corner and Hotaru heard a loud crash. Fearing for the worst, she ran toward the crash and saw Chibiusa on top of a boy lying on the pavement.
" Are you all right?" the boy asked. Chibiusa nodded, she looked up and saw the boy who caught her. He was, she judged, slightly older than her, about four to six years. He has blue eyes, blond hair which he wore up to his collar. He sat up bringing her to his lap. " Could you stand up?" she nodded. She stood up and looked at him.
" I'm so sorry," she apologized. He waved his hand, dismissing the notion.
" It's not your fault," he said. Hotaru went beside her friend and looked at him.
" Let me help you," she offered her hand, but he just looked at them. He did something they both didn't expect. He laughed.
" What's so funny," Chibiusa demanded. He looked at her smiling.
" Nothing. Its just . I can't stand," he nodded toward something and they saw an overturned wheelchair. When they saw it they immediately understood. He was paralyzed.
" I... I'm sorry," she apologized. He shook his head and smiled. He looked at the two little girls, studying them.
" Forget about it. Could you roll my chair over here?" Hotaru straightened the chair and rolled it where the boy was. " Thank you," he found himself looking at Hotaru, really looking at her. He smiled at her and she felt her face heating up. The two girls helped him up but he mostly have done most of the lifting himself. When he was properly seated he looked at them and thanked them again. " Next time be careful," he said solemnly. He was starting to roll away when Chibiusa called after him.
" Wait!" he stopped. He turned around to face them, waiting for her to continue. " Could you tell your name?"
He smiled and rolled toward them. " Why would you like to know my name?" he asked. She shrugged. He was still smiling at them. " Cris."
" Pardon?" Hotaru was the one who asked.
" My name is Cris."
" Oh. I'm Hotaru and this is Chibiusa," she introduced themselves to Cris.
" Pleased to meet you," he said. He turned around and went on his way. He stopped and looked back. " I'll be seeing you," with that he was no longer in sight.
" I wonder where he lives?" Chibiusa said to herself. They were about to leave when something caught Hotaru's eyes. She went to the bushes and picked up a book.
" He must have dropped this," she said . She studied the book carefully, she discovered that the cover was leather and black. The front had a design of the griffin etched in the cover. On the bottom was some letters unfamiliar to Hotaru.
" What's that?" Chibiusa asked. Hotaru shrugged and looked at her friend.
" I think it's some kind of diary."
" Cris's?"
" Maybe. If we see him again I'll ask him," I wish I could see him again. Hotaru thought to herself. Not knowing that she is attracted to him, she couldn't understand what she was feeling.
***** In her bedroom Hotaru was lying on her bed, Thinking about the boy she just met in the park. She thought of him as a cute guy. She remembered about the book and got it from under her pillow. She looked at it and found that there was a lock without a keyhole in it. She tried to figure out how exactly it opens. She tried the latch but it didn't even move. She sighed in desperation and simply put her right thumb in the lock and it opened. She opened the book on the first page, there she saw the same strange lettering as on the cover. She turned it on the next page and saw words written in English. She tried hard to understand it and finally she got to read it. Much to her amazement the book she was reading was Cris's journal. She was ashamed of herself, reading someone else's private journal, but she couldn't help to peek. She read on.
January 1, 1996
I just bought this journal in an antique shop. While I was in the shop, looking at this journal, I opened it and found some strange lettering in the front page. The shopkeeper saw me and I thought he would scold me in opening the book. Much to my surprise, he was glad that I opened the book. He told me that only the owner of the book could open it. I thought it was a prank, a scam to sell a journal, but what he said changed my perception. He said that it is not the man who could open the book but his soul. I asked him to elaborate but he said that I will understand when the time comes. He also gave me another journal, it has the same markings but they were filled with writings same and the one in the first page. He told me that I would understand when the time comes and when you find it. 'It' I asked but he simply said that I'll know. I felt that he may be right.
Hotaru closed the book and was surprised that it automatically locked itself. She replaced it under her pillow, keeping it near her. She sighed and looked up to the ceiling. Thinking of the boy she just met, not understanding what she feels deep inside her. Wishing that she could see his face again. She sighed one last time and fell asleep.
*****
The next day, Hotaru brought the journal with her in hope to return it to Cris. She met Chibiusa in the soda shop after school, a few minutes later they were joined by Rei, Usagi, Ami, Minako and Makoto. They went to a table and ordered. In the far corner of the shop, a lone student, reading a book, was drinking a soda that he ordered. The student was masculine, has red hair tied tightly and neatly in a pony tail. If he let loose the hair it would have been long up to his shoulders. His eyes were green, has a darker color than jade. A few minutes later he was joined by a tall man, probably about six feet two. He has short brown hair, violet eyes and a fairly muscular body. The redhead spoke first.
" Did you find them?" he said as he sipped his soda.
" No," replied the tall man.
" We must find them, Coney."
" I know," Coney replied. He got up and looked at his companion. "Are you sure that they're here, Jerry?"
"Yes," Jerry calmly said. Coney sighed and started to walk towards the door.
" I'll see you tomorrow, Jerry," Jerry nodded in affirmation, he went back in reading his book. He walked a few steps and looked back. He shook his head and continued on his way. He didn't see Makoto passing by him carrying a tray with three sodas. He bumped into her and made her drop the tray. He caught the two sodas in mid air and caught the other one with his foot, balancing it, not letting a drop spill. " Sorry," he said. She looked at him with amazement.
" You know. You look like my ex-boyfriend," she said.
"Really?" he raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Well, he must have been a lucky guy having a girlfriend as beautiful as you are," she blushed at his comment. He was still balancing the soda on his foot. He looked at her and said, " Could you help?"
"Oh! I'm sorry," she got the soda from his foot and picked up the tray.
"Perhaps I should help you with this," she led him to their table and placed the sodas down. "I'm sorry about that, by the way, my name's Coney," he extended his hand. She took it and shook it.
" I'm Makoto," she said.
" Well, I should be on my way," he started to walk away. He stopped and looked back at her. "It's a pleasure meeting you," he walked out of the door. Not before he held the door for Haruka and Michiru, who just came in. They greeted their friends and took the table next to them. A moment later Setsuna walked in and joined them.
"Oh, Haruka," Usagi called her, She looked at her and waited her to continue. "Did you know that Nathaniel transferred to our school?" This made the stranger named Jerry looked up, although he was far away and his back was at them, he could hear them pretty easily.
" No, I didn't," she said. She was curious of why Nathaniel was there.
" Yes," Makoto spoke, "Now there are two really cute guys in our school."
" Two?" Michiru asked, confused on where they're conversation was headed.
"Yes, Nathaniel and Rei," she said. Rei looked at her friend. "Just a namesake, Rei. We call him Michael." Jerry slightly turned his head to hear more, but all he heard was a crashing of the shop's window. Two monsters emerged, with sharp teeth and claws they headed towards the girls. One of them held out a machine and pointed it towards the girls. The monster pointed at Usagi and Chibiusa and started to approach them. Usagi was protecting Chibiusa and Hotaru, The girls were ready to fight the monster when something struck one of the monsters in the eye. It was a dart. They looked at its origin and found a man standing, just standing, a few feet behind them. He was wearing a black leather jacket covering a dark yellow long sleeved shirt, black pants black shoes and a black cape. He was wearing dark sunglasses and had black hair. When he spoke it was mysterious and threatening.
" I am the guide of the souls of man. I guide them towards their destination and hope," he slightly turned his head and looked at the girls. "Although, hope of deliverance is scorched by the fires of futility," he shrugged at his side comment and continued, "I am the keeper of the soul crystal. My name's Blade." The two monsters leapt at him but in one fluid motion he pulled out a spear from his cape and sliced both monsters in half. They disintegrated before they fell to the ground. He caught the object that they were holding and examined it. He pointed it toward the girls and watched for a reaction. He came near them and pocketed the device. "Good morning," he greeted them.
" If you don't mind me asking," Haruka started to say. " Do you know Razor?"
He looked at her studying her from head to toe. "Yes ma'am. How did you meet him?"
" We... ah... crossed paths before," she was surprised that this man didn't commit the same mistake that most people tend to make when they first met her.
"Trying to figure out how I know your gender?" she was dumbfounded. She never expected him to figure out her thoughts.
Trying to gain her composure she asked, " How did ....."
" I know?" he finished the sentence for her. When she nodded he sighed, he extended his arm holding the spear. They saw that the blade of the spear was about twelve inches long, transparent and yellow in color. It also has a small scythe-like blade of the same properties than the spearhead. The handle of the spear retracted and the spear now looked like a short sword. He hid it in his cape and continued on his explanation. " You have a bra."
Instinctively Haruka looked at her breast and saw the outlines of the bra showing of her shirt. She looked at him questionably. "Surely that...."
"Would not be enough to determine your gender," he said.
"Would you please let me finish my own sentence. Its..."
"Annoying you. Sorry" he said. The others could not believe that this person could read minds. "Actually I wasn't sure at first, there are a lot of cross dressers these days, but when I saw the other signs I was positive."
"Signs?" now Michiru was confused.
"Basic biology. Your body structure was that of a female," he started. He was explaining his findings like a teacher teaching a class. "Your pelvic bone is larger than a male, for the carrying of a fetus, and you don't have an Adam's apple."
They were speechless. Their silence was interrupted by Blade who asked Haruka a question. "When did you meet Razor?"
"About two months ago," she answered, breaking off of her trance. She saw him looking at Setsuna and she looked back. He moved closer to her and pulled down his shades to see her better. Setsuna saw his eyes, they were black and darker that space itself. He replaced the shades and looked at her intently.
"Have we met before?" he asked, trying to remember where he saw this woman before.
"Is that your favorite pick-up line?" he smiled at her comment. He took two steps backward and looked at all of them.
"Take care of yourselves. For some reason those monsters are after you," he pointed at Usagi. "Don't do anything stupid."
"With her that would be quite impossible," Makoto said. Everybody smiled except Usagi who looked at her like she would eat her alive.
"Could you read minds?" the question was from Rei. He looked at her and smiled.
"No." Before Rei could react he continued to explain. "I only analyze and interpret situations," he raised his hand and all the pieces of the broken glass floated and began reassembling itself. All eyes were on the window which is now in one piece and looked like new. When they turned around Blade was gone, the only thing he left was his dart. Setsuna, who didn't want to mention the fact that somehow the man called Blade was familiar to her, picked up the dart that was laid on the floor.
*****
In the park Setsuna was walking by herself. The park was empty save for a lone man sitting by himself in a bench. She walked a little bit farther and looked around her too see if there are still people who could see what she was about to do. Satisfied, she started to open a portal to the gate of space and time when a couple of men grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream but one of them placed his hand over her mouth. They were dragging her toward a parked van when a boomerang came from nowhere struck the man holding Setsuna. Temporarily disoriented, she saw her chance to get away. She broke loose and ran away from the two goons. One started to chase her but after a while stopped dead in his tracks.
Setsuna was looking back and she noticed the sudden change of action of the creep. She bumped into someone in her path. She didn't see him because she was looking the other way. He caught her before she could hit the ground. He helped her up and faced the assailants. She looked at him and recognized him from somewhere.
"Have I seen you before?" she asked. He looked at her and returned his gaze to the men.
"Perhaps," it was all he said. She looked at him for elaboration. He somehow sensed this and continued. "You may have seen me in the soda shop, I'm in the far corner. Or perhaps you saw me when you walked through the park."
"Who are you?"
"Now is not the time," the two men walked cautiously toward them. One of them spoke.
"You!" he said in a gruff and dreadful voice. His skin broke and a monster came out of it. The other one did the same thing.
"Go away," the man who saved Setsuna spoke. The monsters slowly advanced.
"Its a pity our mission takes precedence than your capture, Jericho," the monster said.
"What mission?"
"Find out for yourself," he ran towards them, preparing to attack. "In hell!"
Jericho hurled a boomerang toward the monster, he immediately dodged it.
"You missed," it said. The boomerang flew pass the second monster but it changed directions and decapitated the latter monster. The first monster saw what had happened to his companion and dodged the boomerang and Jericho caught it. He threw it in a different direction, namely to his right, and charged the monster. He drew out a couple of sticks, they were about two feet long and about an inch and a half thick.
"What are you going to do beat me up?" it laughed. He didn't see it coming. He struck the monster's face but before he could attack again, it blocked his attack. For the next few minutes there was an exchange of blows and blocks. Then Jericho leapt high in the air and struck the monster on the top of the head. It swung its arm and caught Jericho in the chest. This made him skid towards where Setsuna was. She got down to help him up.
"You're dead." it said arrogantly. Jericho stood up and with a calm voice spoke to it.
"No. You are." the monster didn't see the boomerang coming from behind. It sliced its head off and it fell to the ground. It rolled toward them and Jericho stopped it by stepping on it. The expression of the monster was of shock, its eyes were wide open and it seems it tried to shout. He kicked it away like a soccer player making a goal. It landed inside the van through the open door. "Goal," he said it almost in a whisper. As if nothing happened he went to a bench got what seemed like his jacket and his stuff and walked away.
"Wait!" Setsuna shouted. He stopped and looked at her. "Who are you?"
He raised his hand and the two boomerangs that he threw floated from the ground and flew towards him. He caught them and looked at it. "No one."
"Whoever you are," she smiled as she continued. "Thank you." He walked toward her and they met face to face. He was at least a quarter of an inch taller than her. His jade like eyes entranced her. He smiled and bowed to her.
"Your welcome," he said with such gentleness it made her feel comfortable near him. "My name is Zen."
"Zen? That monster called you..."
"Jericho?" she nodded. He wore his jacket and inserted the boomerangs into the holster behind his back. "Middle name. My full name is Zen Jericho Harper."
"You know that .... thing?"
"No. But he knows me," he looked at the monsters and looked back at her. "That's something I don't want to discuss." She looked at him with an expression he knew he saw before but couldn't place it. She looked at him with worry. "Not now, anyway."
"You looked familiar," she was studying his features trying to determine where she saw him before.
"You already said that."
"Must be my imagination..." without warning, the bodies of the two monsters attacked them. Zen pushed Setsuna aside and in a blur he sliced the monsters and they disintegrated. Setsuna couldn't believe what she saw. Standing there was Zen, holding what looked like a sword. It was a glowing yellow sword, made from some kind of energy. It disappeared from his hand and he fell to his knees. He was breathing heavily, drained from what he had done. She walked close to him and helped him up. He sighed in relief and took a few moments to compose himself.
"What did you just do?" she asked him. He looked at her and saw that she was worried for him. He asked himself, How could she be so worried about me, we just met, haven't we? He wasn't sure for himself, but somehow this scene was familiar.
"It.. it was a spirit sword," he said, his breathing was now normal. "I'm not used to it so I rarely use it. It came out... reflexively. I had no control of its actions."
"I've seen it before, but he used it like it was part of his body," she said.
"It's very dangerous for you to be alone," he said. "Could I take you home?" he offered.
She just met the man but she felt that she knew him before. "Why not?" he led her toward the street to a parked car. It was a black BMW two door convertible. He opened the door for her and went to the driver's side.
"Where to?" he started the car and went on their way.
"There's a temple..."
"You live there?" he asked never taking his eyes off the road. "No," she shook her head. "I have a friend there." For the rest of the trip they were silent. He pulled over at the steps of the temple. Setsuna got out and went over Zen's side of the car. "Thank you." For a few moments there was nothing said.
"Would I see you again?" they said in unison. They burst out laughing. after a while Zen was the one who spoke. "I'll be here tomorrow morning. Would you be?"
"Yes, I will." She waved goodbye and Zen drove off. She sighed and was excited. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
End of 3
Part3-
October 10,
#All is at peace. Too at peace if you ask me. It has been two months since I talked to Rei. We agreed to keep our little conversation to ourselves. Since then nothing much had happened. I had to change schools. For some reason the present one that I am enrolled had been destroyed by an unknown force. Naturally, I would assume that the organization found me, but word has it that it was destroyed by a monster that the Sailor Soldiers were fighting. I have moved to a school named Juuban. It has been a month before I got a reply. I'm starting this week, although I am not sure what to expect.#
Nathaniel looked up and saw Haruka and Michiru standing near the railing of the pier. He closed the journal he is writing on and silently walked away from the two lovers.
*****
about a month ago.
" What happened here!?" Nathaniel exclaimed, not really expecting an answer. He was standing in front of Mugen academy, which now was destroyed. Thousands of reason flooded Nathaniel's mind, some he knew was unimaginable.
" They saw that the Sailor Soldiers fought a demon here," a voice said. He turned around to look at the speaker. It was Ken, his hand were in his pockets, looking at his school now a pile of rubble. " I really liked that school."
Nathaniel looked around, searching the crowd person by person. " Where's Haruka?" Ken looked at him and answered.
" She's with Michiru, last time I saw them."
"She?" Nathaniel blinked in surprise. Thinking that Ken made an error in his vocabulary.
"Yes. She," he looked at him and saw his puzzled expression. " You didn't know?" slowly he shook his head. Ken sighed and elaborated. " Remember the first time you came here and I said it's a waste," he nodded and Ken went on. " It's a waste because that Haruka, although beautiful in a sense, likes girls instead of boys."
"You. why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I felt that it doesn't matter."
" Doesn't matter?! I must have looked like a fool," he was kind of feeling embarrassed.
" If it eases your ego, you're not the only one," Ken walked back to his limo leaving a confused Nathaniel behind.
now.
In the park near the lake, Chibiusa and Hotaru were sitting beneath a tree, enjoying the peacefulness of the day. " Hey look, Chibiusa. A pretty butterfly." she said to her friend.
" Let's catch it," she said. They got up an tried to catch the butterfly. Running, they were unsuccessful in catching it. " Chibiusa! Wait up!" Hotaru called out. But she was determined to catch it. She went around the corner and Hotaru heard a loud crash. Fearing for the worst, she ran toward the crash and saw Chibiusa on top of a boy lying on the pavement.
" Are you all right?" the boy asked. Chibiusa nodded, she looked up and saw the boy who caught her. He was, she judged, slightly older than her, about four to six years. He has blue eyes, blond hair which he wore up to his collar. He sat up bringing her to his lap. " Could you stand up?" she nodded. She stood up and looked at him.
" I'm so sorry," she apologized. He waved his hand, dismissing the notion.
" It's not your fault," he said. Hotaru went beside her friend and looked at him.
" Let me help you," she offered her hand, but he just looked at them. He did something they both didn't expect. He laughed.
" What's so funny," Chibiusa demanded. He looked at her smiling.
" Nothing. Its just . I can't stand," he nodded toward something and they saw an overturned wheelchair. When they saw it they immediately understood. He was paralyzed.
" I... I'm sorry," she apologized. He shook his head and smiled. He looked at the two little girls, studying them.
" Forget about it. Could you roll my chair over here?" Hotaru straightened the chair and rolled it where the boy was. " Thank you," he found himself looking at Hotaru, really looking at her. He smiled at her and she felt her face heating up. The two girls helped him up but he mostly have done most of the lifting himself. When he was properly seated he looked at them and thanked them again. " Next time be careful," he said solemnly. He was starting to roll away when Chibiusa called after him.
" Wait!" he stopped. He turned around to face them, waiting for her to continue. " Could you tell your name?"
He smiled and rolled toward them. " Why would you like to know my name?" he asked. She shrugged. He was still smiling at them. " Cris."
" Pardon?" Hotaru was the one who asked.
" My name is Cris."
" Oh. I'm Hotaru and this is Chibiusa," she introduced themselves to Cris.
" Pleased to meet you," he said. He turned around and went on his way. He stopped and looked back. " I'll be seeing you," with that he was no longer in sight.
" I wonder where he lives?" Chibiusa said to herself. They were about to leave when something caught Hotaru's eyes. She went to the bushes and picked up a book.
" He must have dropped this," she said . She studied the book carefully, she discovered that the cover was leather and black. The front had a design of the griffin etched in the cover. On the bottom was some letters unfamiliar to Hotaru.
" What's that?" Chibiusa asked. Hotaru shrugged and looked at her friend.
" I think it's some kind of diary."
" Cris's?"
" Maybe. If we see him again I'll ask him," I wish I could see him again. Hotaru thought to herself. Not knowing that she is attracted to him, she couldn't understand what she was feeling.
***** In her bedroom Hotaru was lying on her bed, Thinking about the boy she just met in the park. She thought of him as a cute guy. She remembered about the book and got it from under her pillow. She looked at it and found that there was a lock without a keyhole in it. She tried to figure out how exactly it opens. She tried the latch but it didn't even move. She sighed in desperation and simply put her right thumb in the lock and it opened. She opened the book on the first page, there she saw the same strange lettering as on the cover. She turned it on the next page and saw words written in English. She tried hard to understand it and finally she got to read it. Much to her amazement the book she was reading was Cris's journal. She was ashamed of herself, reading someone else's private journal, but she couldn't help to peek. She read on.
January 1, 1996
I just bought this journal in an antique shop. While I was in the shop, looking at this journal, I opened it and found some strange lettering in the front page. The shopkeeper saw me and I thought he would scold me in opening the book. Much to my surprise, he was glad that I opened the book. He told me that only the owner of the book could open it. I thought it was a prank, a scam to sell a journal, but what he said changed my perception. He said that it is not the man who could open the book but his soul. I asked him to elaborate but he said that I will understand when the time comes. He also gave me another journal, it has the same markings but they were filled with writings same and the one in the first page. He told me that I would understand when the time comes and when you find it. 'It' I asked but he simply said that I'll know. I felt that he may be right.
Hotaru closed the book and was surprised that it automatically locked itself. She replaced it under her pillow, keeping it near her. She sighed and looked up to the ceiling. Thinking of the boy she just met, not understanding what she feels deep inside her. Wishing that she could see his face again. She sighed one last time and fell asleep.
*****
The next day, Hotaru brought the journal with her in hope to return it to Cris. She met Chibiusa in the soda shop after school, a few minutes later they were joined by Rei, Usagi, Ami, Minako and Makoto. They went to a table and ordered. In the far corner of the shop, a lone student, reading a book, was drinking a soda that he ordered. The student was masculine, has red hair tied tightly and neatly in a pony tail. If he let loose the hair it would have been long up to his shoulders. His eyes were green, has a darker color than jade. A few minutes later he was joined by a tall man, probably about six feet two. He has short brown hair, violet eyes and a fairly muscular body. The redhead spoke first.
" Did you find them?" he said as he sipped his soda.
" No," replied the tall man.
" We must find them, Coney."
" I know," Coney replied. He got up and looked at his companion. "Are you sure that they're here, Jerry?"
"Yes," Jerry calmly said. Coney sighed and started to walk towards the door.
" I'll see you tomorrow, Jerry," Jerry nodded in affirmation, he went back in reading his book. He walked a few steps and looked back. He shook his head and continued on his way. He didn't see Makoto passing by him carrying a tray with three sodas. He bumped into her and made her drop the tray. He caught the two sodas in mid air and caught the other one with his foot, balancing it, not letting a drop spill. " Sorry," he said. She looked at him with amazement.
" You know. You look like my ex-boyfriend," she said.
"Really?" he raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Well, he must have been a lucky guy having a girlfriend as beautiful as you are," she blushed at his comment. He was still balancing the soda on his foot. He looked at her and said, " Could you help?"
"Oh! I'm sorry," she got the soda from his foot and picked up the tray.
"Perhaps I should help you with this," she led him to their table and placed the sodas down. "I'm sorry about that, by the way, my name's Coney," he extended his hand. She took it and shook it.
" I'm Makoto," she said.
" Well, I should be on my way," he started to walk away. He stopped and looked back at her. "It's a pleasure meeting you," he walked out of the door. Not before he held the door for Haruka and Michiru, who just came in. They greeted their friends and took the table next to them. A moment later Setsuna walked in and joined them.
"Oh, Haruka," Usagi called her, She looked at her and waited her to continue. "Did you know that Nathaniel transferred to our school?" This made the stranger named Jerry looked up, although he was far away and his back was at them, he could hear them pretty easily.
" No, I didn't," she said. She was curious of why Nathaniel was there.
" Yes," Makoto spoke, "Now there are two really cute guys in our school."
" Two?" Michiru asked, confused on where they're conversation was headed.
"Yes, Nathaniel and Rei," she said. Rei looked at her friend. "Just a namesake, Rei. We call him Michael." Jerry slightly turned his head to hear more, but all he heard was a crashing of the shop's window. Two monsters emerged, with sharp teeth and claws they headed towards the girls. One of them held out a machine and pointed it towards the girls. The monster pointed at Usagi and Chibiusa and started to approach them. Usagi was protecting Chibiusa and Hotaru, The girls were ready to fight the monster when something struck one of the monsters in the eye. It was a dart. They looked at its origin and found a man standing, just standing, a few feet behind them. He was wearing a black leather jacket covering a dark yellow long sleeved shirt, black pants black shoes and a black cape. He was wearing dark sunglasses and had black hair. When he spoke it was mysterious and threatening.
" I am the guide of the souls of man. I guide them towards their destination and hope," he slightly turned his head and looked at the girls. "Although, hope of deliverance is scorched by the fires of futility," he shrugged at his side comment and continued, "I am the keeper of the soul crystal. My name's Blade." The two monsters leapt at him but in one fluid motion he pulled out a spear from his cape and sliced both monsters in half. They disintegrated before they fell to the ground. He caught the object that they were holding and examined it. He pointed it toward the girls and watched for a reaction. He came near them and pocketed the device. "Good morning," he greeted them.
" If you don't mind me asking," Haruka started to say. " Do you know Razor?"
He looked at her studying her from head to toe. "Yes ma'am. How did you meet him?"
" We... ah... crossed paths before," she was surprised that this man didn't commit the same mistake that most people tend to make when they first met her.
"Trying to figure out how I know your gender?" she was dumbfounded. She never expected him to figure out her thoughts.
Trying to gain her composure she asked, " How did ....."
" I know?" he finished the sentence for her. When she nodded he sighed, he extended his arm holding the spear. They saw that the blade of the spear was about twelve inches long, transparent and yellow in color. It also has a small scythe-like blade of the same properties than the spearhead. The handle of the spear retracted and the spear now looked like a short sword. He hid it in his cape and continued on his explanation. " You have a bra."
Instinctively Haruka looked at her breast and saw the outlines of the bra showing of her shirt. She looked at him questionably. "Surely that...."
"Would not be enough to determine your gender," he said.
"Would you please let me finish my own sentence. Its..."
"Annoying you. Sorry" he said. The others could not believe that this person could read minds. "Actually I wasn't sure at first, there are a lot of cross dressers these days, but when I saw the other signs I was positive."
"Signs?" now Michiru was confused.
"Basic biology. Your body structure was that of a female," he started. He was explaining his findings like a teacher teaching a class. "Your pelvic bone is larger than a male, for the carrying of a fetus, and you don't have an Adam's apple."
They were speechless. Their silence was interrupted by Blade who asked Haruka a question. "When did you meet Razor?"
"About two months ago," she answered, breaking off of her trance. She saw him looking at Setsuna and she looked back. He moved closer to her and pulled down his shades to see her better. Setsuna saw his eyes, they were black and darker that space itself. He replaced the shades and looked at her intently.
"Have we met before?" he asked, trying to remember where he saw this woman before.
"Is that your favorite pick-up line?" he smiled at her comment. He took two steps backward and looked at all of them.
"Take care of yourselves. For some reason those monsters are after you," he pointed at Usagi. "Don't do anything stupid."
"With her that would be quite impossible," Makoto said. Everybody smiled except Usagi who looked at her like she would eat her alive.
"Could you read minds?" the question was from Rei. He looked at her and smiled.
"No." Before Rei could react he continued to explain. "I only analyze and interpret situations," he raised his hand and all the pieces of the broken glass floated and began reassembling itself. All eyes were on the window which is now in one piece and looked like new. When they turned around Blade was gone, the only thing he left was his dart. Setsuna, who didn't want to mention the fact that somehow the man called Blade was familiar to her, picked up the dart that was laid on the floor.
*****
In the park Setsuna was walking by herself. The park was empty save for a lone man sitting by himself in a bench. She walked a little bit farther and looked around her too see if there are still people who could see what she was about to do. Satisfied, she started to open a portal to the gate of space and time when a couple of men grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream but one of them placed his hand over her mouth. They were dragging her toward a parked van when a boomerang came from nowhere struck the man holding Setsuna. Temporarily disoriented, she saw her chance to get away. She broke loose and ran away from the two goons. One started to chase her but after a while stopped dead in his tracks.
Setsuna was looking back and she noticed the sudden change of action of the creep. She bumped into someone in her path. She didn't see him because she was looking the other way. He caught her before she could hit the ground. He helped her up and faced the assailants. She looked at him and recognized him from somewhere.
"Have I seen you before?" she asked. He looked at her and returned his gaze to the men.
"Perhaps," it was all he said. She looked at him for elaboration. He somehow sensed this and continued. "You may have seen me in the soda shop, I'm in the far corner. Or perhaps you saw me when you walked through the park."
"Who are you?"
"Now is not the time," the two men walked cautiously toward them. One of them spoke.
"You!" he said in a gruff and dreadful voice. His skin broke and a monster came out of it. The other one did the same thing.
"Go away," the man who saved Setsuna spoke. The monsters slowly advanced.
"Its a pity our mission takes precedence than your capture, Jericho," the monster said.
"What mission?"
"Find out for yourself," he ran towards them, preparing to attack. "In hell!"
Jericho hurled a boomerang toward the monster, he immediately dodged it.
"You missed," it said. The boomerang flew pass the second monster but it changed directions and decapitated the latter monster. The first monster saw what had happened to his companion and dodged the boomerang and Jericho caught it. He threw it in a different direction, namely to his right, and charged the monster. He drew out a couple of sticks, they were about two feet long and about an inch and a half thick.
"What are you going to do beat me up?" it laughed. He didn't see it coming. He struck the monster's face but before he could attack again, it blocked his attack. For the next few minutes there was an exchange of blows and blocks. Then Jericho leapt high in the air and struck the monster on the top of the head. It swung its arm and caught Jericho in the chest. This made him skid towards where Setsuna was. She got down to help him up.
"You're dead." it said arrogantly. Jericho stood up and with a calm voice spoke to it.
"No. You are." the monster didn't see the boomerang coming from behind. It sliced its head off and it fell to the ground. It rolled toward them and Jericho stopped it by stepping on it. The expression of the monster was of shock, its eyes were wide open and it seems it tried to shout. He kicked it away like a soccer player making a goal. It landed inside the van through the open door. "Goal," he said it almost in a whisper. As if nothing happened he went to a bench got what seemed like his jacket and his stuff and walked away.
"Wait!" Setsuna shouted. He stopped and looked at her. "Who are you?"
He raised his hand and the two boomerangs that he threw floated from the ground and flew towards him. He caught them and looked at it. "No one."
"Whoever you are," she smiled as she continued. "Thank you." He walked toward her and they met face to face. He was at least a quarter of an inch taller than her. His jade like eyes entranced her. He smiled and bowed to her.
"Your welcome," he said with such gentleness it made her feel comfortable near him. "My name is Zen."
"Zen? That monster called you..."
"Jericho?" she nodded. He wore his jacket and inserted the boomerangs into the holster behind his back. "Middle name. My full name is Zen Jericho Harper."
"You know that .... thing?"
"No. But he knows me," he looked at the monsters and looked back at her. "That's something I don't want to discuss." She looked at him with an expression he knew he saw before but couldn't place it. She looked at him with worry. "Not now, anyway."
"You looked familiar," she was studying his features trying to determine where she saw him before.
"You already said that."
"Must be my imagination..." without warning, the bodies of the two monsters attacked them. Zen pushed Setsuna aside and in a blur he sliced the monsters and they disintegrated. Setsuna couldn't believe what she saw. Standing there was Zen, holding what looked like a sword. It was a glowing yellow sword, made from some kind of energy. It disappeared from his hand and he fell to his knees. He was breathing heavily, drained from what he had done. She walked close to him and helped him up. He sighed in relief and took a few moments to compose himself.
"What did you just do?" she asked him. He looked at her and saw that she was worried for him. He asked himself, How could she be so worried about me, we just met, haven't we? He wasn't sure for himself, but somehow this scene was familiar.
"It.. it was a spirit sword," he said, his breathing was now normal. "I'm not used to it so I rarely use it. It came out... reflexively. I had no control of its actions."
"I've seen it before, but he used it like it was part of his body," she said.
"It's very dangerous for you to be alone," he said. "Could I take you home?" he offered.
She just met the man but she felt that she knew him before. "Why not?" he led her toward the street to a parked car. It was a black BMW two door convertible. He opened the door for her and went to the driver's side.
"Where to?" he started the car and went on their way.
"There's a temple..."
"You live there?" he asked never taking his eyes off the road. "No," she shook her head. "I have a friend there." For the rest of the trip they were silent. He pulled over at the steps of the temple. Setsuna got out and went over Zen's side of the car. "Thank you." For a few moments there was nothing said.
"Would I see you again?" they said in unison. They burst out laughing. after a while Zen was the one who spoke. "I'll be here tomorrow morning. Would you be?"
"Yes, I will." She waved goodbye and Zen drove off. She sighed and was excited. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
End of 3