Soul Eaters
-dew
I do not own Sailor Moon, nor do I pretend to.
(NOTE: PLEASE READ - for those who have read chapter 1 a few days ago, it seems that the chapter was
cut off. since then i have posted a revised chapter. Please, if you will, finish reading where that chapter cut
off and then continue with this one. Thanks!) - dew
Chapter 2. New Acquaintance.
Usagi was sprinting down the sidewalk at break neck speed, dodging people as she ran past.
The last rays of light were fading from dusk's orange glow and the wind was already turning cooler.
"Ooooooh! Late! I'm sooo late!! Rei is going to kill me this time… really kill me! And I can't
believe Luna up and left without me! It's not MY fault Mom said I had to finish my English homework
before I left. How can she know that I've got more important things to do?"
Usagi wrinkled her nose as she thought back to the scene just an hour ago…
***
"Usagi! Where are you going? Out to the temple again?? If you spent half as much time on your
homework as you do with those girls, you'd be a genius by now! Don't you have homework to do?"
"But Moooom! I have important business at the temple!"
"Not as important as the business you have in your room with your homework, Young Lady!
Now, you march back up there, and I expect to see your finished work BEFORE you go anywhere!"
***
Usagi got rid of the flashback with a shake of her head and sighed.
"Well," she said, addressing the paper bag in her hand, "at least Mom gave me some of these
yummy cookies to bring with me."
After a block or two, Usagi slowed from a run down to a walk, clutching her side and wheezing.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to eat half of them on the way…
It was almost full dark by now. The temperature had been steadily dropping and Usagi pulled her
thin jacket around herself tighter. People around her seemed to be walking faster, feeling the chilly air
acutely and either speeding up to keep themselves warm, or hurrying to get to their warm homes. Usagi
sighed. She could be at her warm home now, too. But no, she had to go across town. Can't scout meetings
be done over the phone? Usagi liked the phone. Mamoru calls on the phone all the time… Well, at least
he used to. Ever since he went down to that training thing, he has only called once to say that he made it
there safely. With a louder sigh, Usagi slowed her walking, immersed in her thoughts. It's only been two
days and already her heart ached with missing him. How would she ever live out the rest of the week?
As she walked down the street in the fading twilight, she heard a soft cry to her right. Startled
from her thoughts, Usagi paused, dropping her bag, and whirled around to see what the sound was.
"Hello? Is anybody there?" she asked. "Where is everyone?"
Usagi looked around at the suddenly empty street. Since when was there a street in Japan that
was empty? It was awfully chilly. Maybe the people had hurried off without her noticing. She was a little
preoccupied after all…
Usagi looked around and saw an open door to an abandoned business a little ahead of her and to
her right. There were a lot of businesses, abandoned and occupied, in this part of town. But strangely, the
metal gate, used to keep out prowlers, was pushed aside. Usagi heard the soft sound again, but this time it
was almost distinct, and it sounded like a cry for help.Usagi crept her way towards the building cautiously.
Dimly, she read 'Sako's Clocks' from the faded sign above the door.
"Ok, Usagi," she whispered to herself, "It's nothing. Some…someone might have gotten stuck
fixing the door…"
Ami's voice came back unbidden from the night before. '…One the bodies found last night had
her skull crushed…'
"Usagi! Girl, get yourself together!" Usagi inched towards the door. "It's probably just a cat
meowing. That's it. A helpless kitten..."
'This creature seems to have inhuman strength and power…'
Usagi reached the open door and clutched her brooch nervously. Her heart was pounding almost
loud enough to drown out Ami's words…almost.
'One of the victims was found torn in half…'
She peered into the dark building from the door frame, her body shaking with fear.
"Hello? Anyone…Anybody there?"
'…Torn in half…Torn in half…Torn in half…"
The distinct, firm pressure of a strong hand closed on Usagi's shoulder from behind her.
She screamed shrilly and whirled, pig tails whipping around, to swing out instinctively with her fist and
when she felt it hit something, turned tail to run.
"Oww… hey…"
Usagi froze mid-stride. Monsters didn't make sounds that human, did they? With a great act of
will, Usagi, holding her breath, slowly turned around, and promptly exhaled with relief when she saw a
human man rubbing a red mark on his cheek.
"Oh! Oh no! Oh! I'm so sorry! Please, forgive me! I didn't know who you… I thought you were
going to…I thought you were a monster!" She blurted, quickly coming to the man's aid. The man
straightened and chuckled softly.
"Well, many things have I been called, but never monster."
Usagi took in his appearance with a soft intake of breath. What a beautiful specimen of male!
Well dressed in khakis and a collared shirt… tall and lean with well defined muscles in his arms…
beautiful brown, shaggy hair… and his face…Usagi sighed in spite of herself.
"Oh…if I wasn't already in love…"
"What was that, Miss?"
Usagi's eyes widened as she realized she had spoken out loud and blushed.
"Oh um… I… are you ok? I'm really sorry. Just with all these murders lately…"
The man smiled at Usagi gently and nodded. "Well, my jaw will hurt for a little bit, but I think
I'll survive. You pack quite a punch for such a small, cute thing."
Usagi's blush turned a fierce red, and, as her gaze lowered in embarrassment, she saw a small
bag clutched in the man's left hand.
"My cookies!"
"Yes, indeed. I saw them laying on the ground and you looking into that building.
I thought you had dropped them and did not realize it. You looked very preoccupied, looking into that
doorway. Is something there?"
The man handed her the rumpled bag of cookies and Usagi took them with a smile and a shake of
her head.
"Oh, no. Nothing. Just my imagination. Probably a stray kitten."
The man nodded and looked at his watch. "Say, it's a little late to be wandering around looking
into buildings…The newspapers did recommend that people stay off of the streets when it got dark as
much as possible because of the recent murders."
"Late! Oh no! That's right! Ooooh, Rei is really going to kill me! I'm sorry, sir, but I really have
to go!"
"Well, do not let me keep you," he said with a charming wink. "This Rei sounds like a dangerous
person. You had better take care, Miss. By the way, my name is Fuhiro, Watanabe Fuhiro. But you, Lady,
may call me simply, Fuhiro."
"Nice to meet you Mr. Fuhiro! I'm Tsukino Usagi…but you can just call me…well, Usagi!"
Usagi turned to leave and waved over her shoulder before taking off in a run again. "Gotta go! See you
later, Mr. Fuhiro! Sorry about hitting you!"
The man watched the blond girl dash down the street and smiled to himself, testing her
name out on his tongue. "Usagi."
Usagi dashed up the steps to the temple, swearing they grow longer each time she visits there.
She came up quite suddenly on the solemn circle kneeling around a large, though controlled,
fire in the center of the main room. Rei, in the robes of her earthly profession, sat meditatively
in front of the group with her eyes closed in concentration. Usagi crept up as quietly as she could
and kneeled next to Minako, who waved cheerily and smiled.
"Hi Usagi," whispered Mina, so as not to disturb Rei.
"Hey, Minako. What's going on?"
"Rei couldn't get any answers from the sacred fire today, so she thought that we could help just
by bringing our presents."
"Presents? Really? What presents?"
"She means our PRESCENCE, interjected Ami, who was kneeling next to Minako, in a hushed
voice. "Rei thought that the fire would respond more coherently if our powerful auras surrounded it."
"Which would be more easily accomplished if people knew the meaning of QUIET SO I CAN
CONCENTRATE!"
Ami, Minako, and Usagi all blushed and lowered their heads at Rei's shouted comment.
The fire priestess's eyes were open and looked defeated. "It doesn't matter anyway, I'm afraid." She said.
"The fire isn't responding."
"Oh…Well… That's awful," said Usagi slowly. She brightened as she held up her bag
triumphantly. "Anyway, I brought cookies!"
Minako squealed and snatched the bag from Usagi and began to dig through it.
"Hey!" said Minako, looking at Usagi with disappointment. "These cookies are all crushed."
"Oh, that must have happened when I ran into Mr. Fuhiro-"
The fire camed to life from its peaceful crackling to roar threateningly for a brief moment.
The girls' attention turned to Rei, who was looking at the fire with astonishment. She blushed,
obviously not meaning to make the fire roar, or maybe not realizing she was causing it.
She cleared her throat and glared at Usagi.
"You mean you were chatting with some guy while we were all sitting here waiting for you to-!"
The girls started talking all at once, overlapping Rei.
"A guy! Was he cute??
"What's his name?"
"Where did you meet him at?"
Usagi spread her hands out to fend them off with a sly grin. " Yes, he was REALLY cute
and I met him on the way here. His name is Watanabe Fuhiro."
The fire roared again and the girls turned their attention back to Rei, who, mad at being
interrupted, had her back to the fire and was glaring at the group.
"By the way," said Usagi, looking around. "Where's Luna and Artemis?"
Makoto, sifting through what was left of Usagi's cookies with distaste, spoke up.
"They just left. Right before you came, Luna, who was out scouting, heard an officer talking about a
crime scene that was just discovered not far from here. Artemis and her have gone to check it out."
"And now we're back."
Luna and Artemis, panting from rushing to the temple, stood in the doorway. Luna looked
queasy.
"Well?" demanded Minako.
Artemis swallowed hard. "There's been another murder… And not a pretty one at that."
Ami took out her mini computer and started typing in it. "Matter of death? Location?"
Luna wiped her paw over her mouth with a shudder, remembering what they just recently saw.
"Decapitation."
The girls stared, horrified at the small black cat. Ami was methodically typing into her computer
with a series of beeps. "Location?" she asked again.
"Some old abandoned business. I think it was called 'Sako's Clocks'."
***************************************************************************
Email me at dew_drop@myself.com
-dew
I do not own Sailor Moon, nor do I pretend to.
(NOTE: PLEASE READ - for those who have read chapter 1 a few days ago, it seems that the chapter was
cut off. since then i have posted a revised chapter. Please, if you will, finish reading where that chapter cut
off and then continue with this one. Thanks!) - dew
Chapter 2. New Acquaintance.
Usagi was sprinting down the sidewalk at break neck speed, dodging people as she ran past.
The last rays of light were fading from dusk's orange glow and the wind was already turning cooler.
"Ooooooh! Late! I'm sooo late!! Rei is going to kill me this time… really kill me! And I can't
believe Luna up and left without me! It's not MY fault Mom said I had to finish my English homework
before I left. How can she know that I've got more important things to do?"
Usagi wrinkled her nose as she thought back to the scene just an hour ago…
***
"Usagi! Where are you going? Out to the temple again?? If you spent half as much time on your
homework as you do with those girls, you'd be a genius by now! Don't you have homework to do?"
"But Moooom! I have important business at the temple!"
"Not as important as the business you have in your room with your homework, Young Lady!
Now, you march back up there, and I expect to see your finished work BEFORE you go anywhere!"
***
Usagi got rid of the flashback with a shake of her head and sighed.
"Well," she said, addressing the paper bag in her hand, "at least Mom gave me some of these
yummy cookies to bring with me."
After a block or two, Usagi slowed from a run down to a walk, clutching her side and wheezing.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to eat half of them on the way…
It was almost full dark by now. The temperature had been steadily dropping and Usagi pulled her
thin jacket around herself tighter. People around her seemed to be walking faster, feeling the chilly air
acutely and either speeding up to keep themselves warm, or hurrying to get to their warm homes. Usagi
sighed. She could be at her warm home now, too. But no, she had to go across town. Can't scout meetings
be done over the phone? Usagi liked the phone. Mamoru calls on the phone all the time… Well, at least
he used to. Ever since he went down to that training thing, he has only called once to say that he made it
there safely. With a louder sigh, Usagi slowed her walking, immersed in her thoughts. It's only been two
days and already her heart ached with missing him. How would she ever live out the rest of the week?
As she walked down the street in the fading twilight, she heard a soft cry to her right. Startled
from her thoughts, Usagi paused, dropping her bag, and whirled around to see what the sound was.
"Hello? Is anybody there?" she asked. "Where is everyone?"
Usagi looked around at the suddenly empty street. Since when was there a street in Japan that
was empty? It was awfully chilly. Maybe the people had hurried off without her noticing. She was a little
preoccupied after all…
Usagi looked around and saw an open door to an abandoned business a little ahead of her and to
her right. There were a lot of businesses, abandoned and occupied, in this part of town. But strangely, the
metal gate, used to keep out prowlers, was pushed aside. Usagi heard the soft sound again, but this time it
was almost distinct, and it sounded like a cry for help.Usagi crept her way towards the building cautiously.
Dimly, she read 'Sako's Clocks' from the faded sign above the door.
"Ok, Usagi," she whispered to herself, "It's nothing. Some…someone might have gotten stuck
fixing the door…"
Ami's voice came back unbidden from the night before. '…One the bodies found last night had
her skull crushed…'
"Usagi! Girl, get yourself together!" Usagi inched towards the door. "It's probably just a cat
meowing. That's it. A helpless kitten..."
'This creature seems to have inhuman strength and power…'
Usagi reached the open door and clutched her brooch nervously. Her heart was pounding almost
loud enough to drown out Ami's words…almost.
'One of the victims was found torn in half…'
She peered into the dark building from the door frame, her body shaking with fear.
"Hello? Anyone…Anybody there?"
'…Torn in half…Torn in half…Torn in half…"
The distinct, firm pressure of a strong hand closed on Usagi's shoulder from behind her.
She screamed shrilly and whirled, pig tails whipping around, to swing out instinctively with her fist and
when she felt it hit something, turned tail to run.
"Oww… hey…"
Usagi froze mid-stride. Monsters didn't make sounds that human, did they? With a great act of
will, Usagi, holding her breath, slowly turned around, and promptly exhaled with relief when she saw a
human man rubbing a red mark on his cheek.
"Oh! Oh no! Oh! I'm so sorry! Please, forgive me! I didn't know who you… I thought you were
going to…I thought you were a monster!" She blurted, quickly coming to the man's aid. The man
straightened and chuckled softly.
"Well, many things have I been called, but never monster."
Usagi took in his appearance with a soft intake of breath. What a beautiful specimen of male!
Well dressed in khakis and a collared shirt… tall and lean with well defined muscles in his arms…
beautiful brown, shaggy hair… and his face…Usagi sighed in spite of herself.
"Oh…if I wasn't already in love…"
"What was that, Miss?"
Usagi's eyes widened as she realized she had spoken out loud and blushed.
"Oh um… I… are you ok? I'm really sorry. Just with all these murders lately…"
The man smiled at Usagi gently and nodded. "Well, my jaw will hurt for a little bit, but I think
I'll survive. You pack quite a punch for such a small, cute thing."
Usagi's blush turned a fierce red, and, as her gaze lowered in embarrassment, she saw a small
bag clutched in the man's left hand.
"My cookies!"
"Yes, indeed. I saw them laying on the ground and you looking into that building.
I thought you had dropped them and did not realize it. You looked very preoccupied, looking into that
doorway. Is something there?"
The man handed her the rumpled bag of cookies and Usagi took them with a smile and a shake of
her head.
"Oh, no. Nothing. Just my imagination. Probably a stray kitten."
The man nodded and looked at his watch. "Say, it's a little late to be wandering around looking
into buildings…The newspapers did recommend that people stay off of the streets when it got dark as
much as possible because of the recent murders."
"Late! Oh no! That's right! Ooooh, Rei is really going to kill me! I'm sorry, sir, but I really have
to go!"
"Well, do not let me keep you," he said with a charming wink. "This Rei sounds like a dangerous
person. You had better take care, Miss. By the way, my name is Fuhiro, Watanabe Fuhiro. But you, Lady,
may call me simply, Fuhiro."
"Nice to meet you Mr. Fuhiro! I'm Tsukino Usagi…but you can just call me…well, Usagi!"
Usagi turned to leave and waved over her shoulder before taking off in a run again. "Gotta go! See you
later, Mr. Fuhiro! Sorry about hitting you!"
The man watched the blond girl dash down the street and smiled to himself, testing her
name out on his tongue. "Usagi."
Usagi dashed up the steps to the temple, swearing they grow longer each time she visits there.
She came up quite suddenly on the solemn circle kneeling around a large, though controlled,
fire in the center of the main room. Rei, in the robes of her earthly profession, sat meditatively
in front of the group with her eyes closed in concentration. Usagi crept up as quietly as she could
and kneeled next to Minako, who waved cheerily and smiled.
"Hi Usagi," whispered Mina, so as not to disturb Rei.
"Hey, Minako. What's going on?"
"Rei couldn't get any answers from the sacred fire today, so she thought that we could help just
by bringing our presents."
"Presents? Really? What presents?"
"She means our PRESCENCE, interjected Ami, who was kneeling next to Minako, in a hushed
voice. "Rei thought that the fire would respond more coherently if our powerful auras surrounded it."
"Which would be more easily accomplished if people knew the meaning of QUIET SO I CAN
CONCENTRATE!"
Ami, Minako, and Usagi all blushed and lowered their heads at Rei's shouted comment.
The fire priestess's eyes were open and looked defeated. "It doesn't matter anyway, I'm afraid." She said.
"The fire isn't responding."
"Oh…Well… That's awful," said Usagi slowly. She brightened as she held up her bag
triumphantly. "Anyway, I brought cookies!"
Minako squealed and snatched the bag from Usagi and began to dig through it.
"Hey!" said Minako, looking at Usagi with disappointment. "These cookies are all crushed."
"Oh, that must have happened when I ran into Mr. Fuhiro-"
The fire camed to life from its peaceful crackling to roar threateningly for a brief moment.
The girls' attention turned to Rei, who was looking at the fire with astonishment. She blushed,
obviously not meaning to make the fire roar, or maybe not realizing she was causing it.
She cleared her throat and glared at Usagi.
"You mean you were chatting with some guy while we were all sitting here waiting for you to-!"
The girls started talking all at once, overlapping Rei.
"A guy! Was he cute??
"What's his name?"
"Where did you meet him at?"
Usagi spread her hands out to fend them off with a sly grin. " Yes, he was REALLY cute
and I met him on the way here. His name is Watanabe Fuhiro."
The fire roared again and the girls turned their attention back to Rei, who, mad at being
interrupted, had her back to the fire and was glaring at the group.
"By the way," said Usagi, looking around. "Where's Luna and Artemis?"
Makoto, sifting through what was left of Usagi's cookies with distaste, spoke up.
"They just left. Right before you came, Luna, who was out scouting, heard an officer talking about a
crime scene that was just discovered not far from here. Artemis and her have gone to check it out."
"And now we're back."
Luna and Artemis, panting from rushing to the temple, stood in the doorway. Luna looked
queasy.
"Well?" demanded Minako.
Artemis swallowed hard. "There's been another murder… And not a pretty one at that."
Ami took out her mini computer and started typing in it. "Matter of death? Location?"
Luna wiped her paw over her mouth with a shudder, remembering what they just recently saw.
"Decapitation."
The girls stared, horrified at the small black cat. Ami was methodically typing into her computer
with a series of beeps. "Location?" she asked again.
"Some old abandoned business. I think it was called 'Sako's Clocks'."
***************************************************************************
Email me at dew_drop@myself.com