The Saint and The Angel
(Fallen, that is)
Disclaimer: Nope, Saint Tail's not mine... Looks like I got some assassinations to do... *evil laughter* *hacking cough* Or not... Heheheh. Nah, not my anime/manga. Only thing that belongs to me is the plot. On second thought, this has been done before... um, the fic's mine! Yeah!
Author's Note: It's official. This fic won't die for a while! I actually made the second chapter! *hops up and down in glee* Yeah, there's my spurt of cheer for today... *curses final exams* Oh, and whenever I refer to Asuka, I mean Asuka Jr. Asuka Sr. will be referred to as Asuka Sr.
~
Episode Two: A Determined Saint! The Blood Rose Will Return!
Eimi, standing in her room, admired her handiwork. The rose stood in a glass case, the emerald stem and leaves glittering in the sunlight emanating from the window. The delicate ruby petals shone elegantly. With an expert thief's delicacy, she lifted the glass off and cupped the blossom in her hand. Her first outing in such a long time, and she found she wasn't as rusty as she worried. The smile present on her face only dampened when she thought of that other little thief she encountered. Saint Tail... But hey, it was good practice. If Kaitou Fallen Angel could cause Saint Tail's first ever failure, then her next 'outing' would be a snap.
With a smile, Eimi placed the case back over the rose, muting the glitter of the carved gems. "Wards off loneliness, huh?" she mused to herself. That was the reason the Bara no Chi was her first sought item. Genichirou had been the reason she stopped stealing. But now he was gone. She winced internally, thinking of him, and what he would think if he knew now that she had resumed thieving. Heaving a sigh, she placed a hand lightly on the glass. Then, her thief's ears picking up near-silent footsteps, she quickly pushed the rose into her closet, right when a knock came from the door. Closing the closet doors, Eimi turned to the door and opened it. Her daughter, Meimi, was standing there.
"Hey, Mamma!" she greeted cheerfully. But there was something about her eyes. Something downcast that Eimi thought had faded. But now it was back again. Whatever it was, though, didn't shine through her happy voice. "Shall I make breakfast?" she asked. Meimi had never cooked often before, but had recently been getting better at it. Eimi smiled.
"Sure." In the meantime, I'll need to hide that rose somewhere, she thought. A smile flickered on the corners of her lips as an idea came to her.
~
After breakfast, Meimi raced out of the house and straight to the chapel. It was Saturday, after all, and she would get that Blood Rose back no matter what! Seira was waiting for her, a somber expression in those violet eyes of hers. "I've found where the Bara no Chi is," she said quietly. Meimi inclined her head slightly, signaling for Seira to go on. "It's..." she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "The rose is in the Asuka residence, on the second floor, hidden under Asuka Sr.'s bed," she finished. Meimi blinked.
"WHERE?!" she exclaimed in disbelief. But then she just shook her head and went to send her warning. Luckily, on her way out, she ran into Asuka Jr. "Watch where you're going!" scolded Meimi and Asuka in unison. They blinked. Realizing her chance, Meimi snapped her fingers quietly behind her back and the air between the two exploded in pink and yellow confetti. A pink note fell into Asuka's hand.
"Tomorrow night, at precisely 9 PM, I will complete my mission and visit the Asuka residence to get back what has been taken. The Bara no Chi will be recovered!
St.*Tail." Asuka freaked out after he read the note.
"HOW DARE SHE?" he bellowed. "Attempting to steal something from MY OWN HOUSE!!!" He fumed for a moment longer when he realized what was being stolen. Then he sighed. "Well, there's no way she can steal something that's not there, so I'll just capture her when she realizes it's not there!" he told himself. Meimi bit her lip and prayed Seira was right about the rose.
~
The next evening at 8:30 PM, Asuka Jr. and his dad paced around the kitchen in anxiety and annoyance. Security guards were stationed all over the house. When the clock finally hit 8:55, Asuka Jr. headed upstairs, where he was confident St. Tail was going to appear. Luckily, absolutely none of the business of her stealing the rose leaked into the media, so St. Tail definitely didn't think Fallen Angel would be there. Currently, though, Meimi was at the chapel, the Cologne Pendant clasped in her hands.
"Lord, forgive me, for I use no gimmick or trick," she whispered. "One! Two! Three!!" In a whirl of cards and confetti, the infamous Saint Tail stood, wand in hand, in the center of the chapel. She bowed her head with Seira and they both prayed. "May the blessings of God be with us." With a nod, they grinned at each other.
"You sure you can handle this, Meimi?" Seira inquired seriously. "After all, you'll be operating on Asuka's home territory." Saint Tail just smiled and nodded.
"I wouldn't be doing this if I thought I couldn't. And anyway," she added, "if the Lord wills it so, I will return the Bara no Chi at all costs!" She shot a grin at Seira and raced for the Asuka residence.
Slipping silently under the first floor window, St. Tail glanced into it. Security guards were all around, but neither Daiki Asuka nor his dad were anywhere. They must be upstairs, waiting for me, she thought with a smile. "Well then," she whispered quietly to herself, "I'll just have to pull something different. One. Two. Three..." she whispered and snapped her fingers. The lights in the house all went out just as the moon was obscured by clouds. It was pitch black. St. Tail carefully slipped a rose into the door, snapped her fingers, and opened it. Slipping in past the security guards, she headed cat-like upstairs.
With a hesitant glance around, she detoured into Asuka's room. A smile graced her face as she looked around. She had been in there once, giving Asuka a message, writing it on his face for humor. It was still the same room. Taking a deep breath, she was unprepared when a flashlight beam suddenly caught her in its glare. Luckily, her reflexes kicked in instantaneously and her arm was shadowing her face as the beam settled there. "Asuka," she gasped, surprised.
"It's stupid trying to steal something from my own home," he said bitterly. St. Tail quickly whirled around and fled the room. The pounding of footsteps followed her as she burst into his dad's room and flung herself onto the ground in a roll. Asuka growled as she rolled under his dad's bed. He hopped on top of it and looked down at the other side. Meanwhile, St. Tail snatched the Bara no Chi, its glorious shine muted by the glass case on it. With a triumphant smile, she held it close to her chest and rolled back out, to Asuka's back. Unfortunately, his dad came out of the shadows and dived at her. With a yelp, she back flipped out of his reach and then ran around him to the window. Remembering Kaitou Fallen Angel, she gave a small smile and kicked the window open, not breaking it though. She hopped out of it and released her balloons from her hat. Hanging from the bow on it, she floated away, watching Asuka stick his head out of the window.
"I'LL GET YOU, SAINT TAIL! I'LL GET YOU SOONER OR LATER!!! YOU CAN COUNT ON IT!! I WILL BE THE ONE TO CAPTURE YOU!!" he hollered at her. Another smile traced itself across her lips and she turned away from him, towards the moonlight. Then, with a sudden impulse, she turned her head back to him, golden red ponytail waving behind her like a banner.
"Hey, do me a favor!" she called. "Tell the newspapers that no matter what, Kaitou Saint Tail gets the job done! And tell Kaitou Fallen Angel that she can kiss my-," she paused, let out a soft laugh and then vanished into the horizon.
Meanwhile, Arashi Usagi sat, swinging slightly on the swing at the park. With a sigh, she looked up and, blinking her wide green eyes, she caught a glimmer of red and green. Immediately hopping off the swing, she squinted to get a better look. It was attached to a bunch of colorful balloons. "The Bara no Chi!" she exclaimed happily, eyes full of realization. She held out her hand and the ownership papers appeared. "Whoa," she whispered, as the rose landed safely in her other hand.
~
The next day, Monday ((A/N: Remember? The challenge issued on Saturday said the caper would be the next night, Sunday night, so the next day would be Monday. Convenient, ne?)), Meimi and Seira grinned at each other when they read the paper.
"KAITOUT SAINT TAIL STRIKES AGAIN!" "BARA NO CHI RECOVERED TO ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER!" "A CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO LEGENDARY THIEVES?" Personally, Meimi liked the last one. Like she requested, Asuka had put her comments into it. The press was quite enthusiastic to have direct quotes from Saint Tail herself.
Eimi was reading the paper at the same time, and she was fuming. "How dare that little pest!" she muttered to herself. "I'll get her back..."
