The Saint and the Angel

(Fallen, that is)

Rating: PG – mild swearing

Disclaimer: Well, I wish I owned Saint Tail, but I don't. I don't own anyone in this fic. *sobs*

A/N: Well, no one was posting anything new or updating the Saint Tail fanfiction, so I decided to help it along! Oh, and my knowledge of Kaitou Fallen Angel (and the manga of St. Tail) is very minimum. I'm doing this of my own imagination and things I've read in other's fics. Thanks! Oh, and the chapters will tend to be a little long. Hope you don't mind.

A Little Background: Meimi's father, Haneoka Genichirou, was killed during a magic show. One of his tricks went wrong and he was killed in a fire. Saint Tail has stopped carrying out her missions. Now, three months later, Meimi thinks she's up to helping some more 'lost lambs.' After all, a lot of people count on her when they have nowhere else to turn.

~

Episode One: Watch Out, Detectives! They're Both Back!

Haneoka Meimi trudged slowly down the street, heedless of the masses of students rushing by her in an attempt to be on time. Her lake blue eyes were blank and almost glazed over, focused on the ground while not really seeing anything. She only looked up when a voice shouted out her name.

"Hey, Haneoka! You're going to be late!" Her eyes immediately shot up and locked on the young man running by her. His dark green hair fluttered across his forehead and his dark eyes were a bit groggy, as if he wasn't totally awake yet. As always when she saw Asuka, Jr., she felt a tickling sensation near her heart and managed a smile.

"It seems like you will, too, Asuka, if you don't hurry," she replied, accelerating into a sudden sprint. He blinked in surprise at this quicksilver change, but sped up himself to catch up with her. "Ohaiyou, Seira!" he heard her greet as she dashed past a girl with short brown hair and purple eyes. The two of them skidded into the classroom just as the bell rang. Meimi blinked when she saw Seira there already, sitting quietly. "H-h-ho-how did you-?" Seira just smiled as Meimi and Asuka took their seats.

After school, Meimi jogged to the chapel, ready to tell Seira that Saint Tail was ready to help some lost lambs again. When she told the young nun-in-training this, she smiled. "That's good," Seira said, "because I just had one come in to tell me their troubles. You see..."

~Flashback~

A young girl with short brown hair and emerald eyes looks up at the nun-in-training. "I don't know what to do," she says. "You see, the other day, I had just come back from receiving a gift from my deceased grandmother. It was the Bara no Chi, a man-made rose with petals of pure ruby and a stem of emerald. She gave it to me as an heirloom. You see, it's a priceless charm said to ward off loneliness. I was riding on the bus back home, and I guess it was careless, but I accidentally left it on the bus!" Tears start flowing from her eyes as she speaks. "I later found that my boyfriend, Chugen Mamoru, stole it. He often sells rare items and he said he was going to sell my rose! I can't tell the police... because I think he also stole the papers that said I was the real owner!" The sobs come in harder now, and she puts her face in her hands. "I don't know what to do!"

Seira gently pats her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. God is with you."

~End Flashback~

"The girl was Arashi Usagi, and Kaitou Saint Tail is the only one she can turn to," Seira finished. Meimi nodded seriously and then smiled.

"Well, Usagi-chan shouldn't worry. Saint Tail is back, and she's going to get back her Bara no Chi!" she said confidently.

~

Asuka yawned as he did his homework, sprawled out on his bed. He put his pen down, about to get a drink of water, when it suddenly started writing by itself. His jaw dropped as he read the message. "Tonight, at 10 pm, I'm going to the Chugen mansion to get the Bara no Chi! Catch me if you can!

St.*Tail."

Blinking, his gaze followed the pen as it stopped moving and fell back onto the bed. He didn't pay much attention when his father, Asuka Sr., gave a shout.

Downstairs, Detective Asuka stared at the window with wide eyes. A message written in black was on the window. "Hey, Detective, I'm back! Maybe we'll meet tonight at the Chugen mansion, where I'll be stealing the Bara no Chi. It'll look lovely on my dresser. Come for me if you dare.

Kaitou Fallen Angel."

His breathing came a little faster than normal and he sprinted to his car to warn the rest of the police squad.

~

Meimi hopped out the window with Ruby on her shoulder and sprinted to the chapel, where Seira was waiting. They smiled at each other, and then Meimi clasped the Cologne Pendant and held it to her chest. "Lord, please forgive me, for I use no trick or gimmick. One! Two! Three!" With a flash of cards, streamers, confetti, and a magic hat, she was transformed into Kaitou Saint Tail! She smiled happily, a sense of warm familiarity rushing to meet her, being back in the old thieving uniform. She clasped her hands together, put her head in front of Seira's, and together they prayed.

"May the blessings of God be with us," they said together. With a smile, Saint Tail handed Ruby to Seira and set off for the Chugen mansion, without another word. They didn't need to say anything.

Meanwhile, back at the Haneoka residence, Haneoka Eimi, Meimi's mother, slipped on a skin-tight black leotard. She pulled on black boots and gloves before doing her hair in a high braid. She sighed and stood still for a moment, feeling the old exhilaration return to her. With a cunning smile, she vaulted out her window and towards the Chugen mansion.

In front of the case that held the Bara no Chi, Asuka Jr. and his father blinked at each other in confusion, but decided they were both there for the same reason. They stood right by the rose, while Mamoru sighed worriedly. If the police found out how he'd gotten those ownership papers... He shook the thoughts out of his mind. However, none of them noticed a security guard who seemed a little... out of place. It was a woman guard, with her bangs shadowing her eyes, and a long braid coming from under the hat. Step by step, she was inching ever closer to the rose.

She was a little surprised when the window above them exploded into a whirl of confetti. A girl dressed in black, with a pink skirt was standing there, a pink wand in one hand and a black hat in the other. The lighting cast a shadow over her eyes, but you could see the grin on her face. Her hair was almost the same color as the odd security guard's, but done in a high ponytail instead of a braid.

"It's Show Time!" she shouted, and smoke filled the room. It didn't seem to do anything but blind everyone, and had the sweet smell of cherry blossoms. With an annoyed huff, Kaitou Fallen Angel ripped off the security outfit.

"It is NOT show time!" she hollered. She flung herself at the direction of the case and felt herself thud into the other thief, who seemed to be younger. "Out of my way," she snarled, and snatched the rose, her fingers gripping it firmly, yet delicately. The fog faded, and Fallen Angel was already sprinting towards the window.

Saint Tail, blinking in surprise at this other intruder, was thrown onto the ground. "GET HER!" both Asukas yelled, each pointing at a different thief. Saint Tail vaulted herself onto her feet and ran towards the rogue thief.

"GET BACK HERE WITH THAT ROSE!" she yelled. "One! Two! Three!" The window shut right as the other thief reached it. She smirked, her gaze following the police running after Saint Tail and herself. Right before Saint Tail reached her, Fallen Angel kicked the window open, glass shards flying everywhere, and flipped herself onto the roof. All the others pursued her. She waited at the ledge as Saint Tail and the others approached.

"Bye, bye everyone. It was nice seeing you all again, and meeting you two," she added, nodding at Asuka Jr. and Saint Tail. With that, she took a step backwards and fell off the roof. Saint Tail let out a yelp and ran to the side, looking down. There was nothing. With wide eyes, it hit her that the Bara no Chi had slipped from her grasp. She had failed. The realization hit her hard. With nothing but shocked numbness and despair in her mind, she turned to face the police.

"One. Two. Three!" she chanted, tapping her hat with her wand. A pink ribbon wrapped around her and she was gone. Asuka Jr. and his dad sighed, each thinking the same thing.

"She got away again!"

~

Saint Tail returned to the chapel in a daze, not even bothering to leap from roof to roof. She gently pushed the door open, walked up to Seira, and then sunk to her knees. "I... didn't get it," she whispered, trying to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill. "There was another thief there, an older one. She took it. And the weird thing is, she fell off the roof in front of me, but when I looked, she was gone." Seira's eyes got wide.

"Kaitou Fallen Angel," she whispered. At Saint Tail's puzzled look, Seira went on to explain. "Kaitou Fallen Angel was an infamous thief, when our parents were our age, as a matter of fact. She sent Detective Asuka Sr. notes, much like you send Asuka Jr. warnings. But she was never caught. She stole for herself, never to help anyone, though. But after a while, she just vanished. No one ever heard from her again. They called her Fallen Angel because of the way she left. She clutched the stolen item, bid her pursuers goodbye, and then fell backward off the roof, vanishing. I'm surprised you haven't heard of her." Saint Tail blinked.

"No, I haven't heard of her. One. Two. Three..." She snapped her fingers and Saint Tail was once more Meimi. "I don't think it was an imposter. She looked the right age to be the real Kaitou Fallen Angel. But she stole the rose..." Meimi sighed. "Failing at a mission... There's something I hope I won't have to get used to."

The next morning, it was all over the papers. "KAITOU FALLEN ANGEL AND SAINT TAIL BACK AGAIN!" "KAITOU SAINT TAIL'S CAPER THWARTED BY FALLEN ANGEL!" It was devastating how many different headlines there were, how many people knew. Asuka was fuming. So was Meimi.

At the same time, they both bellowed, "WHO DOES THIS FALLEN ANGEL THINK SHE IS?!"