Episode 4: "Spying?! Never! But who's that Mysterious Girl with Yusuke?!"
Serena sat at her desk Sunday morning trying to get some of her homework done for class the next day. But, as usual, she was unable to concentrate on her work; her mind simply wandered to other things. She sighed, dejected, and slumped back in her seat.
"Luna, I just can't concentrate!" she exclaimed, frustrated. Luna, with a look of disapproval, jumped up onto her desk.
"Now, Serena, what's the matter this time?" she questioned.
"It's that stupid boy I met! Just who was that girl he was with last night?!" Serena asked to herself out loud.
"I don't see why you care so much. Don't you think you have other things to worry about than other people's dating lives?" Luna asked patronizingly.
"YES," Serena answered, annoyed. "But it just BOTHERS me, that's all! I just have to know who she is!"
"You're just being nosey, Serena!" Luna scolded. "Besides, you haven't told me anything about this new evil you're fighting at all!"
"That's because I don't KNOW anything, Luna!" Serena exclaimed in exasperation. "Anyway, it's really not my fight. It's YUSUKE'S. He'd get mad if I tried to drag anyone else along to fight. And, besides, he seems to be doing a pretty good job fighting on his own."
"Then why do you insist on bothering him so much then?"
"BECAUSE," Serena began irritably, "I just have to know what the big mystery is about him! I mean, he acts so tough and all, but as soon as this girl shows up, he's…well…whipped! I just can't understand it!"
"Serena, you should learn to stay out of other people's personal affairs. It isn't any business of yours -"
"I KNOW, Luna," Serena interrupted. "But I'm just never going to be able to concentrate on my homework until I figure it out!"
"You never concentrate on your homework anyway, Serena," Luna replied flatly, but Serena was already picking up her phone. "Now just who are you calling?"
"I'm calling Momiji," she told her curtly and then proceeded to dial.
Momiji picked up the phone and politely greeted the caller, "Hello, this is Momiji. What can I do for you?"
"Hi, Momiji; it's Serena," Serena answered. "I just have to know who that girl was!"
"You mean, the girl with Yusuke from last night?"
"Yeah! I mean, who was she?!"
"I don't know…I've been curious about it myself, actually."
"I thought so!" Serena exclaimed slyly. Momiji grew suspicious.
"What do you plan to do, Serena?" she asked warily. Serena deviously snickered.
"Well, you heard what he said. He planned to take her out all today, right?"
"Right…?"
"So why don't we try to follow them?!" Luna, who now sat on Serena's bed listening to the conversation, groaned.
"I can't believe you'd sink yourself so low as to spy on the boy," she muttered, dissatisfied. Serena scowled.
"Sh, Luna!" she scolded and returned back to her phone conversation. "Anyway, Momiji, I think we could learn a lot if we'd just -"
"I don't know, Serena," Momiji cut in nervously. "I mean, he hates us enough as it is…"
"He doesn't HATE us! He just PRETENDS to!" Serena insisted and then added, "I can tell."
"I don't know…he seems pretty genuine about it to me," Momiji replied with a frown.
"Well, don't you want to find out what's the deal with him and this mysterious girl of his, hmm?" Serena tempted.
"I guess so…" Momiji reluctantly answered.
"So why not find out?!"
"Because we really shouldn't be spying, Serena…"
"Like I told Luna, it's not SPYING, it's merely OBSERVING," Serena insisted.
"Yeah, but -"
"Okay, we'll meet at the park!" Serena interrupted. "The one we were at yesterday night!"
"But I didn't say that I was -"
"And then we'll take it from there! And then we'll figure out who this mysterious girl really is!" Momiji frowned, but she again, she reluctantly replied, "All right…but don't you still think it's wrong?"
"It's only wrong if you get caught!" Serena rationalized.
"Oh, please…" Luna muttered with a groan of disgust.
"I guess so…" Momiji then perked up a bit. "And part of me DOES want to find out who this girl is and all…"
"That's the spirit!" Serena cheered. "I'll meet you in an hour, okay?"
"Okay," Momiji agreed, sounding a bit more convinced than before. "Bye."
"Bye!" Serena then hung up with a grin. "This is going to be great! We're going to finally find out what's the deal with Yusuke!" She then noticed Luna eying her with a look of displeasure. Serena gave a sigh of annoyance. "Don't look at me like that, Luna!"
"Why shouldn't I? You're just going to make a fool of yourself, Serena. And then he really is going to think of you as a silly immature girl," Luna stated flatly.
"He will not!" Serena protested and the added, "And I will not make a fool of myself, Luna! Besides, I have you know that this is very important."
"Yes, because spying on a boy - that you hardly even know, might I add - while he's on a date is so important, Serena," Luna said sarcastically.
"Well, that's why I have to - observe. So I can get to know him better!" Serena reasoned.
"You just want something to gossip about, Serena," Luna told her flatly. "And when you can be doing more important things like -"
"Sorry, Luna," Serena cut her off. "I'd love to argue about this more, but I have to meet Momiji at the park!"
"But, Serena -" But Serena was already gone. Luna sighed in aggravation. "I just can't understand that girl. For someone who's supposed to be saving the world, she sure has her priorities mixed up…"
"So you met them on Thursday?" Keiko asked as she and Yusuke sat at a diner for a late breakfast. Yusuke nodded.
"Yeah…on this mission Botan gave me."
"Which is?"
"I have to kill these three monsters called the Baken-Ai…I don't know…I already killed one."
"On Thursday?" Keiko inquired.
"Yeah…"
"And then what were you fighting last night?" Yusuke gave a shrug.
"Another demon…one's that pissed off that we killed the first Baken-Ai."
"You mean you and those two girls?" Yusuke scoffed.
"They really didn't kill anything," he stated a bit annoyed. "They didn't do much of anything, actually, so I don't know why they're mixed up in this whole thing anyway."
Keiko then hesitated and asked, "But you're not…seeing them or anything, right?" Yusuke nearly laughed out loud.
"No, Keiko. Definitely not. They're just two stupid girls that insist on getting in my way," he answered.
"Well, they didn't seem ALL that bad," Keiko replied with a frown.
"That's because you hardly know them," Yusuke replied wryly.
"Well, you can't know them all that well either if you just met them Thursday," Keiko pointed out and Yusuke took a moment to think about this. He then sighed.
"I guess you're right…still, they insist on helping me fight these Baken-Ai when I already told them I don't need any help. Besides, they do more harm then good, anyway. I mean, one of the girls - Momiji - can't even fight at all."
"'At all?'" Keiko further inquired.
"Well, she can sense things with this blue seed she has on her chest…and she's supposedly some princess sacrifice or something to that extent, but that doesn't really help at all."
"A 'sacrifice?' That sounds horrible!" Keiko exclaimed sympathetically.
"Yeah, well, I wish they'd just sacrifice her already and get it the hell over with so I don't I have to deal with her," Yusuke replied cynically.
"Yusuke! That's a terrible thing to say!" Keiko reprimanded. Yusuke shrugged.
"I guess so…"
"Well, what about the other one - the blonde girl?" Keiko asked now. Yusuke thought about her for a moment.
"I guess she's strong - I mean, she can fight, anyway. But she's not all that bright and she's just so damn annoying…" Keiko frowned and glanced down at her menu. "What's wrong, Keiko?"
"I don't know. It's just that…" She shrugged.
"What?"
"They didn't seem all that bad," she replied. Yusuke sighed and looked away. "And you really shouldn't say those things. Especially if they're just trying to help you."
"Fine, fine," Yusuke finally reluctantly agreed. "They're not all that bad." Keiko smiled.
"Good," she said happily. "After all, you shouldn't jump to conclusions right away."
"Well, you sure did last night…" Yusuke reminded her and she her face turned pink.
"Well, I - that was different." Yusuke gave her a smirk.
"How so, Keiko?"
"Well…it just is!" she declared, lifting her menu as to hide her face. Yusuke laughed. After a moment, she lowered her menu a bit and inquired hesitantly, "Hey, Yusuke?"
"Yeah?" he asked curiously.
"Is that where you got that scar from? From that Baken-Ai?" Yusuke sat up straight and placed his hand over the vivid scar on his forehead. Then, with a frown, he nodded.
"Yeah, I think so…" Keiko didn't ask anymore about it then and returned her eyes to her menu.
Serena and Momiji stood outside the park, not exactly sure where to go from there. Serena had a finger to her chin, a pensive look on her face as she attempted to deliberate their next move, while Momiji had on an awkward expression as she frowned and scratched her head, stumped. Then, Momiji suddenly noticed someone walking on the sidewalk across the street - a redhead that she recognized.
"Hey, isn't that -" she began, but was cut off by Serena, who exclaimed:
"That's that guy from Thursday! Ku - uh - Ku-something!"
"Uh…it did start with a 'k'…" Momiji recalled vaguely.
"Maybe it was Ku…uh…Kurosawa!" Serena suggest, but Momiji frowned.
"I don't think that was it…" But Serena had already taken Momiji by the hand and had started pulling her across the street.
"Hey! Kurosawa!" Serena called to the redhead man, but he didn't stop. "Wait!" Serena sighed. "Maybe he can't hear us!" They got closer, pushing their way through the crowd. "Kurosawa!" she called louder; still, no response.
"Yusuke's friend!" Momiji finally cried out and the redhead turned around with a puzzled look on his face.
"Hey…you're those two girls from Thursday…" he said, pointing to them as they approached.
"You're Kurosawa, right?" Serena asked eagerly.
"No…" he replied, scratching his head. Serena frowned
"Then what's your name?" she asked.
"Kuwabara - Kazuma Kuwabara," he stated proudly.
"Kuwabara!" Serena exclaimed. "So that's it!"
"We couldn't remember," Momiji explained bashfully.
"You have to admit, I was close though," Serena replied, but then winced slightly. "Kind of…anyway, you're a friend of Yusuke's, right?"
"Yeah…" He eyed them suspiciously. "And you're two girls he was with on Thursday…so, what do you want?"
"Well, we're kind of looking for Yusuke, you see," Momiji began politely. "So if you could just tell us where he may be…"
"I don't know…he didn't seem to like you two all that much last time I talked to him," he said, folding his arms. Both girls frowned.
"I told you he hated us," Momiji whispered into Serena's ear, but Serena cast the comment aside.
"But it's REALLY important that we find him!" Serena insisted with pleading eyes.
"Why?" he questioned and both girls frowned again, unable to come up with a decent answer. Kuwabara then grew stern. "I don't know what you two girls -"
"It's Momiji," Momiji interrupted with a awkward smile. "And this is Serena." Serena gave a wide grin.
"Yeah…well…I don't know what you two girls want, but you better not be trying to, you know, steal Urameshi away from Keiko. Keiko's a nice girl and she doesn't deserve that!" Both girls' eyes widened as they looked at each other in realization.
"That must be…" Momiji began.
"That girl from last night…" Serena finished. They then turned eagerly back to Kuwabara. "Could you tell us more about this Keiko?"
"'Keiko?'" Kuwabara repeated and scratched his head in contemplation. "Well, I don't know…what do you want to know about her?"
"Is she…uh…Yusuke's girlfriend?" Serena asked.
"No," Kuwabara grumbled. "But they ought to be! Urameshi's too busy acting all tough all the time, though, to realize it! But Keiko's probably the person he cares about the most in the whole world. He'd do anything for her. They've been friends since childhood."
"Really?" Momiji asked. "That's so romantic!"
"What else can you tell us about the mystery that is Yusuke Urameshi?" Serena interrogated and Kuwabara frowned in perplexity.
"There's really nothing all that mysterious. There's not much to figure out once you know him for awhile," he said.
"Well, tell us then!" Serena nearly demanded.
"Uh…I don't know. Like I said, he's always trying to act tough and all, like cutting school and getting into fights and stuff, but he's really a good guy."
"I told you it was just an act!" Serena now remarked to Momiji, but Momiji just frowned.
"You mean…he's like a juvenile delinquent?" she asked hesitantly.
"Well, he WAS," Kuwabara corrected himself. "He's kind of gotten better ever since, well…I suppose I shouldn't tell you about THAT."
"But you HAVE to!" Serena insisted.
"I can't; it's classified information," Kuwabara insisted, crossing his arms and turning from them stubbornly.
"But -" Serena sighed and looked to Momiji. Momiji shrugged.
"Maybe it has to do with that long story he wouldn't tell us…" she answered. "…about becoming a Spirit Detective…" Kuwabara gasped and turned to them frantically.
"You mean, he told you two about that?!" Serena and Momiji exchanged a puzzled look before nodding. "Well…I can't believe it! Why'd he tell you two something like that?!" They shrugged in response.
"I guess it was because we wouldn't stop following him otherwise…" Momiji finally replied.
"Then, I guess you already know when he stopped getting into street fights and all…although he does cut school a lot still…"
"You mean, when he started becoming a Spirit Detective?" Momiji further questioned to clarify. Kuwabara nodded pensively.
"Yeah, he's been a lot nicer ever since he died…" Both girls' faces cringed into a look of shocked horror and they each let out a shrill gasp of fear. "Yeah, well…I ought to be going. As for where Urameshi is, I'm not sure." He then turned and began walking away. Serena and Momiji would have tried to stop him if they had been frozen in their own stunned terror. Once he was ought of sight, they looked at each other and cried:
"DIED?!"
Awhile later, Serena and Momiji had overcome their initial shock and had started walking again, both frowning in dismay. It seemed that the mystery had become more puzzling than clear. The talk with Kuwabara just left them with more questions rather than answers.
"You don't think he REALLY meant 'died,' do you?" Momiji asked.
"No…of course not…" Serena lied weakly.
"Maybe that's the long story…he died and that Lord Koenma guy brought him back to life just so long as he became a Spirit Detective."
"That kind of makes sense…" Serena agreed. "Except it sort of sounds like he sold his soul into slavery…" Momiji cringed.
"Well…I don't know…I'm sure that Lord Koenma isn't a BAD man…I mean, it's not like he sent Yusuke to do something evil. He sent him to try and fight an evil demon and save a little boy."
"That's true, too," Serena replied.
"Besides, we're just guessing, anyway; we don't know if any of this is true or not. We don't even know the whole story," Momiji reminded her.
"We shouldn't have let that Kuwabara leave!" Serena declared with regret. "Not before we finished questioning him, especially about this whole 'died' thing!"
"And we really don't know if that girl was Keiko or not…" Momiji added pessimistically.
"She has to be!" Serena exclaimed. "She fits the description, right?"
"Yeah, but, we only saw her for - like - a minute; that's not a lot to really go on…"
"Still…who else could it be then?" Momiji shrugged.
"Besides, even if the girl was Keiko, that doesn't really answer our question. She's not his girlfriend, but she's more than a friend to him."
"Like siblings?"
"I don't think that's it either…" Momiji's voice trailed off as she frowned, scrunching her eyebrows. Serena grimaced as well.
"Yeah, that doesn't sound right at all…"
"I can't believe he's a juvenile delinquent…" Momiji now changed the subject. "Or almost one, anyway."
"Well, we'll have to get him to work on that, then," Serena decided matter-of-factly.
"We really shouldn't try to reform him…"
"There he is!" Serena suddenly exclaimed, pointing toward a restaurant window and Momiji, startled, almost jumped out of her skin. Serena pulled her to the window and the two, crouched down as the peered through the window.
"You're right! That is him!" Momiji declared as she spotted Yusuke sitting in a booth with the same girl from the night before.
"And he's with HER," Serena added redundantly, pointing out the obvious. They watched for a few moments, mischievous smiles on their faces.
"Look! They're laughing!" Momiji pointed out. Serena nodded. "It's so cute!"
"He really isn't that scary after all, is he?" Serena said, nearly laughing herself. "He's really just a big sweetie!"
"Well, I wouldn't say THAT…" Momiji replied. Serena then let out a frustrated sigh and stood up.
"I wish I could hear what they're saying!"
"Serena?" Both Serena and Momiji turned around, Serena now standing and Momiji still kneeling on the ground, to see a handsome black-haired man smiling down at them. "Serena, what are you doing?"
"Darien!" Serena suddenly cried, laughing nervously. "We were…uh…what are you doing here, Darien?"
"I just happened to be walking by," he told her. He then folded his arms and though still smiling, asked her sternly, "You're not spying again, are you, Serena?"
"Darien!" she exclaimed, blushing wildly with embarrassment. "It's none of your business if I was spying or not, which I WASN'T!" She then looked at Momiji. "Right, Momiji?" Momiji immediately shot up.
"No, no, she wasn't!" Momiji rapidly stated. Darien just laughed.
"Serena, you really shouldn't be so nosy," he told her.
"I'm not! I'm just…curious, that's all!" Serena argued. "Besides…uh…don't you want to introduce yourself to Momiji?" She gave Momiji a nudge forward.
"Hi, I'm Momiji," Momiji replied bashfully. "I'm a friend of Serena's…" She awkwardly extended her hand to him.
"I'm Darien," he told her kindly shaking her hand. "Serena's boyfriend." Momiji nodded.
"Serena already told me; she said you were destined for each other."
"Is that so?" Darien asked, gazing at Serena and Serena grinned widely. Darien laughed again and then asked, "So, Serena, who are you spying on this time?"
"You mean, you do this often?" Momiji inquired and Serena's face flushed again.
"Not OFTEN! Darien's just over exaggerating," Serena insisted. "Anyway, it's not spying! It's merely observing."
"Who are you 'observing' then?" Darien asked.
"Oh, just this boy me and Momiji met on Thursday…" Serena answered casually, turning back to the window. "You see, he's right -" Serena let out a gasp. "Hey! Where'd he go?!" Frantically, Serena began to scan the entire restaurant. "Well, he has to be SOMEWHERE…!"
"AHEM," a voice came from the right and both girls froze at the sound of it. Sheepishly, they turned to see a very crossed Yusuke staring at them with irritable eyes. Behind him stood the girl he had been with - the one they assumed to be Keiko - who was looking at them very perplexed. Serena chuckled nervously.
"Well, hello, Yusuke!" she greeted him elaborately. "Funny running into you here…"
"Hello, Serena," he said flatly, giving her a dry smile. "I could say the same thing to you."
"We were…uh…just walking by…and uh…" She let out another fit of laughter again. "You think we were - oh! Well, we weren't! Of course not! We were just walking by, really, and then you just showed up out of the blue! Funny how things work out like that, you know? But we weren't - we weren't SPYING or anything like that, if that's what you think."
"Oh, really?" he asked, still giving her a look of daggers.
"Of COURSE not!" Serena insisted and gave Momiji a shove. "Tell him, Momiji!" Momiji hesitated for a moment and then nearly burst into tears.
"I'm so sorry!" she apologized frantically, bowing her head in shame. Serena frowned.
"I thought so," Yusuke replied crossly. "What part of 'leave me alone' don't you understand?"
"Uh…the 'leave' part?" Serena suggested weakly. "Or maybe it's the 'alone' thing…" Yusuke sighed in frustration.
"It's bad enough that you two have to bother me when I'm trying to fight, but now you both find it necessary to get involved in my personal life as well!" he shouted and both girls cringed in fear.
"I told you that he'd end up hating us more…" Momiji whispered to Serena. Serena winced a bit more before she looked to Darien for help.
"Darien?" she asked hopefully. But Darien shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Serena, but you're on your with this one," he told her with a sympathetic smile. "I told you that you shouldn't spy."
"I KNOW, Darien, but -"
"Who's this?" Yusuke then asked suspiciously eyeing Darien. Serena perked up a bit.
"This is my boyfriend Darien!" she introduced Darien excitedly. "Darien, this is Yusuke and his…er…friend Keiko."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Darien said and extended his hand for Yusuke to shake. Yusuke hesitated a moment.
"He's not like that Kusanagi ass, is he?"
"Hey! Kusanagi isn't that bad!" Momiji protested.
"Darien's perfect! After all, he is my boyfriend!" Serena exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Yusuke muttered, but reluctantly shook Darien's hand anyway. Darien then shook hands with Keiko.
"Nice to meet you," Keiko said politely.
"Same here," Darien replied.
"But…how'd you two know my name?" Keiko asked. "Did Yusuke tell you?"
"Oh, no! Kuwabara told us!" Momiji answered with a grin. Serena nudged her.
"You're not supposed to give away our sources!"
"Sorry…"
"Kuwabara…" Yusuke grumbled. "That idiot…what else did Kuwabara tell you?"
"Well, now that you ask," Momiji began, "are you really a juvenile delinquent?" Yusuke scowled at her.
"I'm not even bothering to answer that…"
"Yusuke's not a delinquent!" Keiko told them, offended. "At all!"
"Sorry…" Momiji apologized with a sincere frown and lowered her head.
"Wait! I have another question!" Serena exclaimed. "Did you really die?" Yusuke shut his eyes, trying his best to keep calm rather than ramming his fist into the wall.
"Listen - that's none of your business," he answered flatly. "In fact, I don't even know why I'm still talking to you both now."
"Because…we're a team?" Momiji inquired weakly and hopefully.
"No - we are NOT a team. I thought I made that very clear the first day I met you both," he told them callously. "Furthermore, we are not friends, we are not comrades, we are not buddies, and we are not pals."
"How about really close acquaintances?" Serena suggested.
"NO!" Yusuke shouted, his temper breaking. "We are NOT even 'close acquaintances!' I can barely even tolerate you, let alone like you! So why don't you both get your own lives and leave me the hell alone?!" He then turned abruptly from them and took Keiko by the arm. "Come on, Keiko."
"All right…" she concurred reluctantly.
As soon as Yusuke and Keiko started walking, however, Momiji's blue seed began to glow.
"Huh…?" Yusuke asked, turning to see that both Momiji and Serena had the same look of perplexity in their wide eyes. And then, a loud roar came from in the street as did a bunch of cries of terrror. All three looked to see a wolf-like beast standing on the top of a car in the street, screeching wildly. It's eyes glowed red. Keiko immediately grabbed onto Yusuke's arm.
"What is that?"
"I don't know…"
Then in a roar, the beast questioned, "Where are the three who dare to defy Torazo?!"
"That's that demon that the Baken-Ai plans to rise, isn't it?" Momiji asked and Yusuke nodded.
"Who dared to kill the first Baken-Ai, Shiko?!" It's eyes then set on Momiji, Yusuke, and Serena, as the crowds of screaming people began to flee from the hideous creature. "Yes! You are the three! I will destroy you!"
"Not again…" Serena whined.
"You mean, this has happened before?" Darien asked. No one had a chance to answer him, however, because suddenly, from the throat of the wolf-like beast came a blast of energy in a great roar. It swirled right toward them.
Yusuke was able to jump out of the way, dragging Keiko along with him, Momiji, luckily, was able to drop to the ground before it hit her, and Darien was already out of range of the blast. Serena, however, was not so fortunate. The blast collided with her and she went flying backwards, straight through the glass of the restaurant window, and then skidded across the floor, shattered glass falling with her. The people in the restaurant let out a gasp, rising to their feet.
"Serena!" Darien cried, but the wolf-beast jumped onto the sidewalk, separating him and Momiji from Keiko and Yusuke. It stared through the window, with it's red eyes set on the unconscious Serena. As soon as the customers in the restaurant saw the demon, they all let out terrified screams and fled from the restaurant.
Yusuke, realizing that the beast had set it's target on Serena, immediately stepped forward and called out: "Hey! Over here!"
"Yusuke!" Keiko whispered nervously.
"Just get out of here, Keiko!" he told her and then he turned back to the beast. "I'm the one who killed your stupid Baken-Ai! The two girls didn't do anything!" It cocked it's head to the right and eyed Yusuke furiously. Keiko still stood behind him, holding onto his arm fearfully. "Get out of here, Keiko!" he repeated, but she shook her head.
"I won't leave you!" she told him.
"Keiko!"
The beast then jumped for them. Yusuke quickly pushed Keiko to the side as he fell backwards onto the ground, the beast hovering over him, growling with its fangs bared.
Meanwhile, Momiji and Darien had rushed into the restaurant and knelt by the unconscious Serena's side, Momiji on her right and Darien on her left. Momiji, in a panic, grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her desperately.
"Get up, Serena! Get up!" she cried. "You have to get up and transform!" Darien gasped and looked at Momiji in surprise.
"You mean…you know…?" he asked quietly, but Momiji didn't bother to answer.
"Serena! You have to help Yusuke! And you can't help him if you're not even conscious!"
"Momiji…?" Serena slurred, her eyes fluttering open.
"Serena! Wake up!" Momiji shouted, continuing to shake her. "I can't do anything, but you can! Get up!" Serena groaned and slowly sat up, placing a hand to her head.
"What happened…?"
"You have to transform! Now!" Momiji ordered. Suddenly, recalling what had just happened, Serena grew alert and nodded.
"Right!" She stood up. "Moon Crystal Power!" She was suddenly transformed into Sailor Moon. Momiji stared up at her, wide-eyed.
"Wow…"
Yusuke stared up at the beast, fear in his eyes and still on his back as the wolf-creature advanced toward him, rearing its ugly head and snapping it's jaw - it was nearly on top of him. Yusuke raised his finger and pointed it at the creature as the wolf-beast roared and lowered its fangs for him.
"Spirit Gun…" Yusuke said, a light forming on the tip of his finger. However, strangely, the beast stopped and lifted its head, staring at Yusuke with wide red eyes.
"I know you," it said in a strange, trembling voice. The light on Yusuke's finger diminished then as he gasped, startled, gazing up at the creature, unblinking.
"What?"
"I know you," it repeated, staring down at Yusuke in awe.
"Moon Scepter Elimination!" Serena's voice then chimed in and the beast was suddenly hit from behind by a blast of energy. The beast screeched in pain as it snapped it's head back, leaving a stunned Yusuke lying on the ground.
"No! Wait!" he cried, rising to his feet, but it was too late; the beast had been obliterated to dust. He frowned in defeat.
"Yusuke! Are you all right?" Keiko asked, rushing to his side. He glanced away.
"It said it knew me…" Keiko gasped and lowered her eyes from him. She then looked ahead to where Serena as Sailor Moon stood with a grin of pride plastered across her face.
"Hey, who's that girl who saved you?" she asked curiously.
"Huh?" Yusuke looked up at Serena and frowned in dismay. "Don't you recognize her from before?"
"No…" Keiko said, puzzled. "Should I?" Yusuke sighed, scratching the back of his head.
"I guess not…"
"Hey, Yusuke!" Serena called to him. "Guess you owe me one, huh?" she asked with a wink. "After all, I just saved your life!" Yusuke gave her a melancholy smile and a sad chuckle.
"Yeah…you did, I guess," he replied. Serena, however, frowned.
"Why don't you seem too happy about it then?" she asked. "I know! You're just jealous because I beat the demon and you didn't."
"That's probably it…" Yusuke's voice trailed off. He didn't sound all that convincing. Momiji, who had now taken a place beside Serena, stared at Yusuke with a look of despair.
"Why does he look so down?" Momiji asked. Serena shrugged.
"I don't know…" she said, scrunching her eyebrows in disappointment. "I thought he'd be more happy with us now that we saved his life."
"You mean just you," Momiji muttered, glancing down at her feet.
"You helped!" Serena insisted. The sound of sirens then came to their ears.
"Someone must have called the police," Darien observed then. Serena panicked.
"Oh, no! What do we do?! What do we do?!"
"We get the hell out of here, that's what we do!" Yusuke told them and the five, deciding this was the best course of action, quickly ran from the scene of the crime.
Afterwards, when they reached an alleyway, they stopped and caught their breath. Keiko suddenly gasped, however, eyes widening in horror.
"We just left that Serena girl there!" she cried. "We have to go back for her, don't we?" Yusuke frowned and Momiji looked perplexed.
"Uh…" Yusuke's voice trailed off as he averted his eyes.
"Yusuke!"
"What are you talking about?" Momiji asked curiously. "Serena's right here." She looked at Serena, who was in her Sailor Moon disguise. Serena's face turned bright red.
"You weren't supposed to tell anyone that!" she declared.
"But isn't it obvious?" Momiji asked innocently. Serena lowered her head with a pitiful moan.
"It's not SUPPOSED to be…" Keiko stepped up to Serena with a quizzical look in her eyes.
"You mean…THIS is Serena?" she asked. They all nodded. "But…it doesn't look anything like her!"
"You have got to be kidding me!" Yusuke declared. "It looks just like her!" But Keiko shook her head.
"I don't think so," Keiko answered, studying her.
"Well…who else have you seen who where's their hair like THAT?" Yusuke questioned.
"Hey! What's wrong with my hair?!" Serena cried angrily.
"I guess that's true…" Keiko agreed, although she didn't seem too convinced. "So you're saying that Serena's…this girl."
"The name's Sailor Moon!" Serena corrected. "Champion of Love and Justice!" Keiko examined her a minute longer and then sighed.
"I still don't see the resemblance, but if you say so…" she replied. "Anyway, it was nice meeting all three of you, but I think me and Yusuke ought to get going…right, Yusuke?" Yusuke nodded.
"Yeah, thanks for the help," he said.
"Really?" Serena asked, clasping her hands together hopefully. "You mean, you're not angry at us any longer?" Both her and Momiji looked at Yusuke with hopeful eyes.
"I GUESS not," Yusuke answered reluctantly. "Just try not to spy on me again, all right?"
"We won't! We promise!" Momiji exclaimed sincerely, although she wasn't too sure about Serena. Keiko and Yusuke then started to leave, but as they were walking away, Yusuke called:
"You know something, you're not as useless as I thought you were." He grinned deviously. "At least ONE of you isn't, anyway." Momiji's face dropped, her cheeks turning bright red as Yusuke and Keiko disappeared into the crowded street.
"You big jerk!" Momiji shouted to him, infuriated when he was already gone. "I'm not all that useless…" She exhaled and then turned to Serena. "You were really great today. I wish I could do something like that…anyway, I ought to get going myself. Bye, Serena!"
"Bye, Momiji!" Serena called and Momiji then disappeared into the crowd herself, leaving Serena and Darien alone in the alley. "So, what do you think of them?"
"Momiji seems nice…Yusuke, too, though a bit short-tempered," Darien answered. "What I want to know is what's going on exactly? Who was that demon that attacked all three of you and how come Momiji knows your secret identity?" Serena smiled.
"It's actually kind of a long story, Darien," she said. "I'll tell you on the way home."
Then, after transforming from Sailor Moon back into Serena, the two took each other's arm and began to pleasantly walk down the street together.
Coming Attractions:
Serena: What's the mystery behind these strange demons, anyway? Do they work for the Baken-Ai or are they minions of this Torazo demon who the Baken-Ai are supposed to rise?
Yusuke: And what did that monster mean anyway by saying it knew me?
Momiji: Although all these questions are very important, they're, unfortunately, not answered in the next episode!
Serena and Yusuke: WHAT?!
Momiji: Instead, we're attacked by yet another one of these mysterious demons in the name of Torazo and the Baken-Ai!
Serena: Not another one!
Momiji: More importantly, Sakura comes onto the scene!
Serena: Not that jerk!
Momiji: Serena!
Yusuke: I have to agree with Serena on this one. Why do all your friends have to suck?
Momiji: They do not!
Serena: Oh, yeah! Kusanagi's back, too! Along with my sweet Darien!
Yusuke: Great! Not only do I have to deal with that stupid bitch Sakura, I have to put up with Kusanagi, too!
Momiji: Kusanagi's not that bad! Maybe if you knew how to be NICE instead of being rude all the time…
Yusuke: Well, maybe if you're boyfriend wasn't such a moron -
Momiji: He's NOT my boyfriend!
Serena: Well, doesn't that seem like déjà vu from the last previews? Anyway, while Darien has to play mediator between Yusuke and Kusanagi…
Momiji: And I have to be the referee between Sakura and Serena…
Serena: Only one question remains - if we're all fighting each other, who's going to be fighting the demon?!
Momiji: So stayed tune to find out the answer on the next action-packed episode of "What's My Line Again…?," Episode 5: "Fight! Fight! Fight! Can't we all just get along?!"
Yusuke: Well, where's the fun in that?!
Serena sat at her desk Sunday morning trying to get some of her homework done for class the next day. But, as usual, she was unable to concentrate on her work; her mind simply wandered to other things. She sighed, dejected, and slumped back in her seat.
"Luna, I just can't concentrate!" she exclaimed, frustrated. Luna, with a look of disapproval, jumped up onto her desk.
"Now, Serena, what's the matter this time?" she questioned.
"It's that stupid boy I met! Just who was that girl he was with last night?!" Serena asked to herself out loud.
"I don't see why you care so much. Don't you think you have other things to worry about than other people's dating lives?" Luna asked patronizingly.
"YES," Serena answered, annoyed. "But it just BOTHERS me, that's all! I just have to know who she is!"
"You're just being nosey, Serena!" Luna scolded. "Besides, you haven't told me anything about this new evil you're fighting at all!"
"That's because I don't KNOW anything, Luna!" Serena exclaimed in exasperation. "Anyway, it's really not my fight. It's YUSUKE'S. He'd get mad if I tried to drag anyone else along to fight. And, besides, he seems to be doing a pretty good job fighting on his own."
"Then why do you insist on bothering him so much then?"
"BECAUSE," Serena began irritably, "I just have to know what the big mystery is about him! I mean, he acts so tough and all, but as soon as this girl shows up, he's…well…whipped! I just can't understand it!"
"Serena, you should learn to stay out of other people's personal affairs. It isn't any business of yours -"
"I KNOW, Luna," Serena interrupted. "But I'm just never going to be able to concentrate on my homework until I figure it out!"
"You never concentrate on your homework anyway, Serena," Luna replied flatly, but Serena was already picking up her phone. "Now just who are you calling?"
"I'm calling Momiji," she told her curtly and then proceeded to dial.
Momiji picked up the phone and politely greeted the caller, "Hello, this is Momiji. What can I do for you?"
"Hi, Momiji; it's Serena," Serena answered. "I just have to know who that girl was!"
"You mean, the girl with Yusuke from last night?"
"Yeah! I mean, who was she?!"
"I don't know…I've been curious about it myself, actually."
"I thought so!" Serena exclaimed slyly. Momiji grew suspicious.
"What do you plan to do, Serena?" she asked warily. Serena deviously snickered.
"Well, you heard what he said. He planned to take her out all today, right?"
"Right…?"
"So why don't we try to follow them?!" Luna, who now sat on Serena's bed listening to the conversation, groaned.
"I can't believe you'd sink yourself so low as to spy on the boy," she muttered, dissatisfied. Serena scowled.
"Sh, Luna!" she scolded and returned back to her phone conversation. "Anyway, Momiji, I think we could learn a lot if we'd just -"
"I don't know, Serena," Momiji cut in nervously. "I mean, he hates us enough as it is…"
"He doesn't HATE us! He just PRETENDS to!" Serena insisted and then added, "I can tell."
"I don't know…he seems pretty genuine about it to me," Momiji replied with a frown.
"Well, don't you want to find out what's the deal with him and this mysterious girl of his, hmm?" Serena tempted.
"I guess so…" Momiji reluctantly answered.
"So why not find out?!"
"Because we really shouldn't be spying, Serena…"
"Like I told Luna, it's not SPYING, it's merely OBSERVING," Serena insisted.
"Yeah, but -"
"Okay, we'll meet at the park!" Serena interrupted. "The one we were at yesterday night!"
"But I didn't say that I was -"
"And then we'll take it from there! And then we'll figure out who this mysterious girl really is!" Momiji frowned, but she again, she reluctantly replied, "All right…but don't you still think it's wrong?"
"It's only wrong if you get caught!" Serena rationalized.
"Oh, please…" Luna muttered with a groan of disgust.
"I guess so…" Momiji then perked up a bit. "And part of me DOES want to find out who this girl is and all…"
"That's the spirit!" Serena cheered. "I'll meet you in an hour, okay?"
"Okay," Momiji agreed, sounding a bit more convinced than before. "Bye."
"Bye!" Serena then hung up with a grin. "This is going to be great! We're going to finally find out what's the deal with Yusuke!" She then noticed Luna eying her with a look of displeasure. Serena gave a sigh of annoyance. "Don't look at me like that, Luna!"
"Why shouldn't I? You're just going to make a fool of yourself, Serena. And then he really is going to think of you as a silly immature girl," Luna stated flatly.
"He will not!" Serena protested and the added, "And I will not make a fool of myself, Luna! Besides, I have you know that this is very important."
"Yes, because spying on a boy - that you hardly even know, might I add - while he's on a date is so important, Serena," Luna said sarcastically.
"Well, that's why I have to - observe. So I can get to know him better!" Serena reasoned.
"You just want something to gossip about, Serena," Luna told her flatly. "And when you can be doing more important things like -"
"Sorry, Luna," Serena cut her off. "I'd love to argue about this more, but I have to meet Momiji at the park!"
"But, Serena -" But Serena was already gone. Luna sighed in aggravation. "I just can't understand that girl. For someone who's supposed to be saving the world, she sure has her priorities mixed up…"
"So you met them on Thursday?" Keiko asked as she and Yusuke sat at a diner for a late breakfast. Yusuke nodded.
"Yeah…on this mission Botan gave me."
"Which is?"
"I have to kill these three monsters called the Baken-Ai…I don't know…I already killed one."
"On Thursday?" Keiko inquired.
"Yeah…"
"And then what were you fighting last night?" Yusuke gave a shrug.
"Another demon…one's that pissed off that we killed the first Baken-Ai."
"You mean you and those two girls?" Yusuke scoffed.
"They really didn't kill anything," he stated a bit annoyed. "They didn't do much of anything, actually, so I don't know why they're mixed up in this whole thing anyway."
Keiko then hesitated and asked, "But you're not…seeing them or anything, right?" Yusuke nearly laughed out loud.
"No, Keiko. Definitely not. They're just two stupid girls that insist on getting in my way," he answered.
"Well, they didn't seem ALL that bad," Keiko replied with a frown.
"That's because you hardly know them," Yusuke replied wryly.
"Well, you can't know them all that well either if you just met them Thursday," Keiko pointed out and Yusuke took a moment to think about this. He then sighed.
"I guess you're right…still, they insist on helping me fight these Baken-Ai when I already told them I don't need any help. Besides, they do more harm then good, anyway. I mean, one of the girls - Momiji - can't even fight at all."
"'At all?'" Keiko further inquired.
"Well, she can sense things with this blue seed she has on her chest…and she's supposedly some princess sacrifice or something to that extent, but that doesn't really help at all."
"A 'sacrifice?' That sounds horrible!" Keiko exclaimed sympathetically.
"Yeah, well, I wish they'd just sacrifice her already and get it the hell over with so I don't I have to deal with her," Yusuke replied cynically.
"Yusuke! That's a terrible thing to say!" Keiko reprimanded. Yusuke shrugged.
"I guess so…"
"Well, what about the other one - the blonde girl?" Keiko asked now. Yusuke thought about her for a moment.
"I guess she's strong - I mean, she can fight, anyway. But she's not all that bright and she's just so damn annoying…" Keiko frowned and glanced down at her menu. "What's wrong, Keiko?"
"I don't know. It's just that…" She shrugged.
"What?"
"They didn't seem all that bad," she replied. Yusuke sighed and looked away. "And you really shouldn't say those things. Especially if they're just trying to help you."
"Fine, fine," Yusuke finally reluctantly agreed. "They're not all that bad." Keiko smiled.
"Good," she said happily. "After all, you shouldn't jump to conclusions right away."
"Well, you sure did last night…" Yusuke reminded her and she her face turned pink.
"Well, I - that was different." Yusuke gave her a smirk.
"How so, Keiko?"
"Well…it just is!" she declared, lifting her menu as to hide her face. Yusuke laughed. After a moment, she lowered her menu a bit and inquired hesitantly, "Hey, Yusuke?"
"Yeah?" he asked curiously.
"Is that where you got that scar from? From that Baken-Ai?" Yusuke sat up straight and placed his hand over the vivid scar on his forehead. Then, with a frown, he nodded.
"Yeah, I think so…" Keiko didn't ask anymore about it then and returned her eyes to her menu.
Serena and Momiji stood outside the park, not exactly sure where to go from there. Serena had a finger to her chin, a pensive look on her face as she attempted to deliberate their next move, while Momiji had on an awkward expression as she frowned and scratched her head, stumped. Then, Momiji suddenly noticed someone walking on the sidewalk across the street - a redhead that she recognized.
"Hey, isn't that -" she began, but was cut off by Serena, who exclaimed:
"That's that guy from Thursday! Ku - uh - Ku-something!"
"Uh…it did start with a 'k'…" Momiji recalled vaguely.
"Maybe it was Ku…uh…Kurosawa!" Serena suggest, but Momiji frowned.
"I don't think that was it…" But Serena had already taken Momiji by the hand and had started pulling her across the street.
"Hey! Kurosawa!" Serena called to the redhead man, but he didn't stop. "Wait!" Serena sighed. "Maybe he can't hear us!" They got closer, pushing their way through the crowd. "Kurosawa!" she called louder; still, no response.
"Yusuke's friend!" Momiji finally cried out and the redhead turned around with a puzzled look on his face.
"Hey…you're those two girls from Thursday…" he said, pointing to them as they approached.
"You're Kurosawa, right?" Serena asked eagerly.
"No…" he replied, scratching his head. Serena frowned
"Then what's your name?" she asked.
"Kuwabara - Kazuma Kuwabara," he stated proudly.
"Kuwabara!" Serena exclaimed. "So that's it!"
"We couldn't remember," Momiji explained bashfully.
"You have to admit, I was close though," Serena replied, but then winced slightly. "Kind of…anyway, you're a friend of Yusuke's, right?"
"Yeah…" He eyed them suspiciously. "And you're two girls he was with on Thursday…so, what do you want?"
"Well, we're kind of looking for Yusuke, you see," Momiji began politely. "So if you could just tell us where he may be…"
"I don't know…he didn't seem to like you two all that much last time I talked to him," he said, folding his arms. Both girls frowned.
"I told you he hated us," Momiji whispered into Serena's ear, but Serena cast the comment aside.
"But it's REALLY important that we find him!" Serena insisted with pleading eyes.
"Why?" he questioned and both girls frowned again, unable to come up with a decent answer. Kuwabara then grew stern. "I don't know what you two girls -"
"It's Momiji," Momiji interrupted with a awkward smile. "And this is Serena." Serena gave a wide grin.
"Yeah…well…I don't know what you two girls want, but you better not be trying to, you know, steal Urameshi away from Keiko. Keiko's a nice girl and she doesn't deserve that!" Both girls' eyes widened as they looked at each other in realization.
"That must be…" Momiji began.
"That girl from last night…" Serena finished. They then turned eagerly back to Kuwabara. "Could you tell us more about this Keiko?"
"'Keiko?'" Kuwabara repeated and scratched his head in contemplation. "Well, I don't know…what do you want to know about her?"
"Is she…uh…Yusuke's girlfriend?" Serena asked.
"No," Kuwabara grumbled. "But they ought to be! Urameshi's too busy acting all tough all the time, though, to realize it! But Keiko's probably the person he cares about the most in the whole world. He'd do anything for her. They've been friends since childhood."
"Really?" Momiji asked. "That's so romantic!"
"What else can you tell us about the mystery that is Yusuke Urameshi?" Serena interrogated and Kuwabara frowned in perplexity.
"There's really nothing all that mysterious. There's not much to figure out once you know him for awhile," he said.
"Well, tell us then!" Serena nearly demanded.
"Uh…I don't know. Like I said, he's always trying to act tough and all, like cutting school and getting into fights and stuff, but he's really a good guy."
"I told you it was just an act!" Serena now remarked to Momiji, but Momiji just frowned.
"You mean…he's like a juvenile delinquent?" she asked hesitantly.
"Well, he WAS," Kuwabara corrected himself. "He's kind of gotten better ever since, well…I suppose I shouldn't tell you about THAT."
"But you HAVE to!" Serena insisted.
"I can't; it's classified information," Kuwabara insisted, crossing his arms and turning from them stubbornly.
"But -" Serena sighed and looked to Momiji. Momiji shrugged.
"Maybe it has to do with that long story he wouldn't tell us…" she answered. "…about becoming a Spirit Detective…" Kuwabara gasped and turned to them frantically.
"You mean, he told you two about that?!" Serena and Momiji exchanged a puzzled look before nodding. "Well…I can't believe it! Why'd he tell you two something like that?!" They shrugged in response.
"I guess it was because we wouldn't stop following him otherwise…" Momiji finally replied.
"Then, I guess you already know when he stopped getting into street fights and all…although he does cut school a lot still…"
"You mean, when he started becoming a Spirit Detective?" Momiji further questioned to clarify. Kuwabara nodded pensively.
"Yeah, he's been a lot nicer ever since he died…" Both girls' faces cringed into a look of shocked horror and they each let out a shrill gasp of fear. "Yeah, well…I ought to be going. As for where Urameshi is, I'm not sure." He then turned and began walking away. Serena and Momiji would have tried to stop him if they had been frozen in their own stunned terror. Once he was ought of sight, they looked at each other and cried:
"DIED?!"
Awhile later, Serena and Momiji had overcome their initial shock and had started walking again, both frowning in dismay. It seemed that the mystery had become more puzzling than clear. The talk with Kuwabara just left them with more questions rather than answers.
"You don't think he REALLY meant 'died,' do you?" Momiji asked.
"No…of course not…" Serena lied weakly.
"Maybe that's the long story…he died and that Lord Koenma guy brought him back to life just so long as he became a Spirit Detective."
"That kind of makes sense…" Serena agreed. "Except it sort of sounds like he sold his soul into slavery…" Momiji cringed.
"Well…I don't know…I'm sure that Lord Koenma isn't a BAD man…I mean, it's not like he sent Yusuke to do something evil. He sent him to try and fight an evil demon and save a little boy."
"That's true, too," Serena replied.
"Besides, we're just guessing, anyway; we don't know if any of this is true or not. We don't even know the whole story," Momiji reminded her.
"We shouldn't have let that Kuwabara leave!" Serena declared with regret. "Not before we finished questioning him, especially about this whole 'died' thing!"
"And we really don't know if that girl was Keiko or not…" Momiji added pessimistically.
"She has to be!" Serena exclaimed. "She fits the description, right?"
"Yeah, but, we only saw her for - like - a minute; that's not a lot to really go on…"
"Still…who else could it be then?" Momiji shrugged.
"Besides, even if the girl was Keiko, that doesn't really answer our question. She's not his girlfriend, but she's more than a friend to him."
"Like siblings?"
"I don't think that's it either…" Momiji's voice trailed off as she frowned, scrunching her eyebrows. Serena grimaced as well.
"Yeah, that doesn't sound right at all…"
"I can't believe he's a juvenile delinquent…" Momiji now changed the subject. "Or almost one, anyway."
"Well, we'll have to get him to work on that, then," Serena decided matter-of-factly.
"We really shouldn't try to reform him…"
"There he is!" Serena suddenly exclaimed, pointing toward a restaurant window and Momiji, startled, almost jumped out of her skin. Serena pulled her to the window and the two, crouched down as the peered through the window.
"You're right! That is him!" Momiji declared as she spotted Yusuke sitting in a booth with the same girl from the night before.
"And he's with HER," Serena added redundantly, pointing out the obvious. They watched for a few moments, mischievous smiles on their faces.
"Look! They're laughing!" Momiji pointed out. Serena nodded. "It's so cute!"
"He really isn't that scary after all, is he?" Serena said, nearly laughing herself. "He's really just a big sweetie!"
"Well, I wouldn't say THAT…" Momiji replied. Serena then let out a frustrated sigh and stood up.
"I wish I could hear what they're saying!"
"Serena?" Both Serena and Momiji turned around, Serena now standing and Momiji still kneeling on the ground, to see a handsome black-haired man smiling down at them. "Serena, what are you doing?"
"Darien!" Serena suddenly cried, laughing nervously. "We were…uh…what are you doing here, Darien?"
"I just happened to be walking by," he told her. He then folded his arms and though still smiling, asked her sternly, "You're not spying again, are you, Serena?"
"Darien!" she exclaimed, blushing wildly with embarrassment. "It's none of your business if I was spying or not, which I WASN'T!" She then looked at Momiji. "Right, Momiji?" Momiji immediately shot up.
"No, no, she wasn't!" Momiji rapidly stated. Darien just laughed.
"Serena, you really shouldn't be so nosy," he told her.
"I'm not! I'm just…curious, that's all!" Serena argued. "Besides…uh…don't you want to introduce yourself to Momiji?" She gave Momiji a nudge forward.
"Hi, I'm Momiji," Momiji replied bashfully. "I'm a friend of Serena's…" She awkwardly extended her hand to him.
"I'm Darien," he told her kindly shaking her hand. "Serena's boyfriend." Momiji nodded.
"Serena already told me; she said you were destined for each other."
"Is that so?" Darien asked, gazing at Serena and Serena grinned widely. Darien laughed again and then asked, "So, Serena, who are you spying on this time?"
"You mean, you do this often?" Momiji inquired and Serena's face flushed again.
"Not OFTEN! Darien's just over exaggerating," Serena insisted. "Anyway, it's not spying! It's merely observing."
"Who are you 'observing' then?" Darien asked.
"Oh, just this boy me and Momiji met on Thursday…" Serena answered casually, turning back to the window. "You see, he's right -" Serena let out a gasp. "Hey! Where'd he go?!" Frantically, Serena began to scan the entire restaurant. "Well, he has to be SOMEWHERE…!"
"AHEM," a voice came from the right and both girls froze at the sound of it. Sheepishly, they turned to see a very crossed Yusuke staring at them with irritable eyes. Behind him stood the girl he had been with - the one they assumed to be Keiko - who was looking at them very perplexed. Serena chuckled nervously.
"Well, hello, Yusuke!" she greeted him elaborately. "Funny running into you here…"
"Hello, Serena," he said flatly, giving her a dry smile. "I could say the same thing to you."
"We were…uh…just walking by…and uh…" She let out another fit of laughter again. "You think we were - oh! Well, we weren't! Of course not! We were just walking by, really, and then you just showed up out of the blue! Funny how things work out like that, you know? But we weren't - we weren't SPYING or anything like that, if that's what you think."
"Oh, really?" he asked, still giving her a look of daggers.
"Of COURSE not!" Serena insisted and gave Momiji a shove. "Tell him, Momiji!" Momiji hesitated for a moment and then nearly burst into tears.
"I'm so sorry!" she apologized frantically, bowing her head in shame. Serena frowned.
"I thought so," Yusuke replied crossly. "What part of 'leave me alone' don't you understand?"
"Uh…the 'leave' part?" Serena suggested weakly. "Or maybe it's the 'alone' thing…" Yusuke sighed in frustration.
"It's bad enough that you two have to bother me when I'm trying to fight, but now you both find it necessary to get involved in my personal life as well!" he shouted and both girls cringed in fear.
"I told you that he'd end up hating us more…" Momiji whispered to Serena. Serena winced a bit more before she looked to Darien for help.
"Darien?" she asked hopefully. But Darien shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Serena, but you're on your with this one," he told her with a sympathetic smile. "I told you that you shouldn't spy."
"I KNOW, Darien, but -"
"Who's this?" Yusuke then asked suspiciously eyeing Darien. Serena perked up a bit.
"This is my boyfriend Darien!" she introduced Darien excitedly. "Darien, this is Yusuke and his…er…friend Keiko."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Darien said and extended his hand for Yusuke to shake. Yusuke hesitated a moment.
"He's not like that Kusanagi ass, is he?"
"Hey! Kusanagi isn't that bad!" Momiji protested.
"Darien's perfect! After all, he is my boyfriend!" Serena exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Yusuke muttered, but reluctantly shook Darien's hand anyway. Darien then shook hands with Keiko.
"Nice to meet you," Keiko said politely.
"Same here," Darien replied.
"But…how'd you two know my name?" Keiko asked. "Did Yusuke tell you?"
"Oh, no! Kuwabara told us!" Momiji answered with a grin. Serena nudged her.
"You're not supposed to give away our sources!"
"Sorry…"
"Kuwabara…" Yusuke grumbled. "That idiot…what else did Kuwabara tell you?"
"Well, now that you ask," Momiji began, "are you really a juvenile delinquent?" Yusuke scowled at her.
"I'm not even bothering to answer that…"
"Yusuke's not a delinquent!" Keiko told them, offended. "At all!"
"Sorry…" Momiji apologized with a sincere frown and lowered her head.
"Wait! I have another question!" Serena exclaimed. "Did you really die?" Yusuke shut his eyes, trying his best to keep calm rather than ramming his fist into the wall.
"Listen - that's none of your business," he answered flatly. "In fact, I don't even know why I'm still talking to you both now."
"Because…we're a team?" Momiji inquired weakly and hopefully.
"No - we are NOT a team. I thought I made that very clear the first day I met you both," he told them callously. "Furthermore, we are not friends, we are not comrades, we are not buddies, and we are not pals."
"How about really close acquaintances?" Serena suggested.
"NO!" Yusuke shouted, his temper breaking. "We are NOT even 'close acquaintances!' I can barely even tolerate you, let alone like you! So why don't you both get your own lives and leave me the hell alone?!" He then turned abruptly from them and took Keiko by the arm. "Come on, Keiko."
"All right…" she concurred reluctantly.
As soon as Yusuke and Keiko started walking, however, Momiji's blue seed began to glow.
"Huh…?" Yusuke asked, turning to see that both Momiji and Serena had the same look of perplexity in their wide eyes. And then, a loud roar came from in the street as did a bunch of cries of terrror. All three looked to see a wolf-like beast standing on the top of a car in the street, screeching wildly. It's eyes glowed red. Keiko immediately grabbed onto Yusuke's arm.
"What is that?"
"I don't know…"
Then in a roar, the beast questioned, "Where are the three who dare to defy Torazo?!"
"That's that demon that the Baken-Ai plans to rise, isn't it?" Momiji asked and Yusuke nodded.
"Who dared to kill the first Baken-Ai, Shiko?!" It's eyes then set on Momiji, Yusuke, and Serena, as the crowds of screaming people began to flee from the hideous creature. "Yes! You are the three! I will destroy you!"
"Not again…" Serena whined.
"You mean, this has happened before?" Darien asked. No one had a chance to answer him, however, because suddenly, from the throat of the wolf-like beast came a blast of energy in a great roar. It swirled right toward them.
Yusuke was able to jump out of the way, dragging Keiko along with him, Momiji, luckily, was able to drop to the ground before it hit her, and Darien was already out of range of the blast. Serena, however, was not so fortunate. The blast collided with her and she went flying backwards, straight through the glass of the restaurant window, and then skidded across the floor, shattered glass falling with her. The people in the restaurant let out a gasp, rising to their feet.
"Serena!" Darien cried, but the wolf-beast jumped onto the sidewalk, separating him and Momiji from Keiko and Yusuke. It stared through the window, with it's red eyes set on the unconscious Serena. As soon as the customers in the restaurant saw the demon, they all let out terrified screams and fled from the restaurant.
Yusuke, realizing that the beast had set it's target on Serena, immediately stepped forward and called out: "Hey! Over here!"
"Yusuke!" Keiko whispered nervously.
"Just get out of here, Keiko!" he told her and then he turned back to the beast. "I'm the one who killed your stupid Baken-Ai! The two girls didn't do anything!" It cocked it's head to the right and eyed Yusuke furiously. Keiko still stood behind him, holding onto his arm fearfully. "Get out of here, Keiko!" he repeated, but she shook her head.
"I won't leave you!" she told him.
"Keiko!"
The beast then jumped for them. Yusuke quickly pushed Keiko to the side as he fell backwards onto the ground, the beast hovering over him, growling with its fangs bared.
Meanwhile, Momiji and Darien had rushed into the restaurant and knelt by the unconscious Serena's side, Momiji on her right and Darien on her left. Momiji, in a panic, grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her desperately.
"Get up, Serena! Get up!" she cried. "You have to get up and transform!" Darien gasped and looked at Momiji in surprise.
"You mean…you know…?" he asked quietly, but Momiji didn't bother to answer.
"Serena! You have to help Yusuke! And you can't help him if you're not even conscious!"
"Momiji…?" Serena slurred, her eyes fluttering open.
"Serena! Wake up!" Momiji shouted, continuing to shake her. "I can't do anything, but you can! Get up!" Serena groaned and slowly sat up, placing a hand to her head.
"What happened…?"
"You have to transform! Now!" Momiji ordered. Suddenly, recalling what had just happened, Serena grew alert and nodded.
"Right!" She stood up. "Moon Crystal Power!" She was suddenly transformed into Sailor Moon. Momiji stared up at her, wide-eyed.
"Wow…"
Yusuke stared up at the beast, fear in his eyes and still on his back as the wolf-creature advanced toward him, rearing its ugly head and snapping it's jaw - it was nearly on top of him. Yusuke raised his finger and pointed it at the creature as the wolf-beast roared and lowered its fangs for him.
"Spirit Gun…" Yusuke said, a light forming on the tip of his finger. However, strangely, the beast stopped and lifted its head, staring at Yusuke with wide red eyes.
"I know you," it said in a strange, trembling voice. The light on Yusuke's finger diminished then as he gasped, startled, gazing up at the creature, unblinking.
"What?"
"I know you," it repeated, staring down at Yusuke in awe.
"Moon Scepter Elimination!" Serena's voice then chimed in and the beast was suddenly hit from behind by a blast of energy. The beast screeched in pain as it snapped it's head back, leaving a stunned Yusuke lying on the ground.
"No! Wait!" he cried, rising to his feet, but it was too late; the beast had been obliterated to dust. He frowned in defeat.
"Yusuke! Are you all right?" Keiko asked, rushing to his side. He glanced away.
"It said it knew me…" Keiko gasped and lowered her eyes from him. She then looked ahead to where Serena as Sailor Moon stood with a grin of pride plastered across her face.
"Hey, who's that girl who saved you?" she asked curiously.
"Huh?" Yusuke looked up at Serena and frowned in dismay. "Don't you recognize her from before?"
"No…" Keiko said, puzzled. "Should I?" Yusuke sighed, scratching the back of his head.
"I guess not…"
"Hey, Yusuke!" Serena called to him. "Guess you owe me one, huh?" she asked with a wink. "After all, I just saved your life!" Yusuke gave her a melancholy smile and a sad chuckle.
"Yeah…you did, I guess," he replied. Serena, however, frowned.
"Why don't you seem too happy about it then?" she asked. "I know! You're just jealous because I beat the demon and you didn't."
"That's probably it…" Yusuke's voice trailed off. He didn't sound all that convincing. Momiji, who had now taken a place beside Serena, stared at Yusuke with a look of despair.
"Why does he look so down?" Momiji asked. Serena shrugged.
"I don't know…" she said, scrunching her eyebrows in disappointment. "I thought he'd be more happy with us now that we saved his life."
"You mean just you," Momiji muttered, glancing down at her feet.
"You helped!" Serena insisted. The sound of sirens then came to their ears.
"Someone must have called the police," Darien observed then. Serena panicked.
"Oh, no! What do we do?! What do we do?!"
"We get the hell out of here, that's what we do!" Yusuke told them and the five, deciding this was the best course of action, quickly ran from the scene of the crime.
Afterwards, when they reached an alleyway, they stopped and caught their breath. Keiko suddenly gasped, however, eyes widening in horror.
"We just left that Serena girl there!" she cried. "We have to go back for her, don't we?" Yusuke frowned and Momiji looked perplexed.
"Uh…" Yusuke's voice trailed off as he averted his eyes.
"Yusuke!"
"What are you talking about?" Momiji asked curiously. "Serena's right here." She looked at Serena, who was in her Sailor Moon disguise. Serena's face turned bright red.
"You weren't supposed to tell anyone that!" she declared.
"But isn't it obvious?" Momiji asked innocently. Serena lowered her head with a pitiful moan.
"It's not SUPPOSED to be…" Keiko stepped up to Serena with a quizzical look in her eyes.
"You mean…THIS is Serena?" she asked. They all nodded. "But…it doesn't look anything like her!"
"You have got to be kidding me!" Yusuke declared. "It looks just like her!" But Keiko shook her head.
"I don't think so," Keiko answered, studying her.
"Well…who else have you seen who where's their hair like THAT?" Yusuke questioned.
"Hey! What's wrong with my hair?!" Serena cried angrily.
"I guess that's true…" Keiko agreed, although she didn't seem too convinced. "So you're saying that Serena's…this girl."
"The name's Sailor Moon!" Serena corrected. "Champion of Love and Justice!" Keiko examined her a minute longer and then sighed.
"I still don't see the resemblance, but if you say so…" she replied. "Anyway, it was nice meeting all three of you, but I think me and Yusuke ought to get going…right, Yusuke?" Yusuke nodded.
"Yeah, thanks for the help," he said.
"Really?" Serena asked, clasping her hands together hopefully. "You mean, you're not angry at us any longer?" Both her and Momiji looked at Yusuke with hopeful eyes.
"I GUESS not," Yusuke answered reluctantly. "Just try not to spy on me again, all right?"
"We won't! We promise!" Momiji exclaimed sincerely, although she wasn't too sure about Serena. Keiko and Yusuke then started to leave, but as they were walking away, Yusuke called:
"You know something, you're not as useless as I thought you were." He grinned deviously. "At least ONE of you isn't, anyway." Momiji's face dropped, her cheeks turning bright red as Yusuke and Keiko disappeared into the crowded street.
"You big jerk!" Momiji shouted to him, infuriated when he was already gone. "I'm not all that useless…" She exhaled and then turned to Serena. "You were really great today. I wish I could do something like that…anyway, I ought to get going myself. Bye, Serena!"
"Bye, Momiji!" Serena called and Momiji then disappeared into the crowd herself, leaving Serena and Darien alone in the alley. "So, what do you think of them?"
"Momiji seems nice…Yusuke, too, though a bit short-tempered," Darien answered. "What I want to know is what's going on exactly? Who was that demon that attacked all three of you and how come Momiji knows your secret identity?" Serena smiled.
"It's actually kind of a long story, Darien," she said. "I'll tell you on the way home."
Then, after transforming from Sailor Moon back into Serena, the two took each other's arm and began to pleasantly walk down the street together.
Coming Attractions:
Serena: What's the mystery behind these strange demons, anyway? Do they work for the Baken-Ai or are they minions of this Torazo demon who the Baken-Ai are supposed to rise?
Yusuke: And what did that monster mean anyway by saying it knew me?
Momiji: Although all these questions are very important, they're, unfortunately, not answered in the next episode!
Serena and Yusuke: WHAT?!
Momiji: Instead, we're attacked by yet another one of these mysterious demons in the name of Torazo and the Baken-Ai!
Serena: Not another one!
Momiji: More importantly, Sakura comes onto the scene!
Serena: Not that jerk!
Momiji: Serena!
Yusuke: I have to agree with Serena on this one. Why do all your friends have to suck?
Momiji: They do not!
Serena: Oh, yeah! Kusanagi's back, too! Along with my sweet Darien!
Yusuke: Great! Not only do I have to deal with that stupid bitch Sakura, I have to put up with Kusanagi, too!
Momiji: Kusanagi's not that bad! Maybe if you knew how to be NICE instead of being rude all the time…
Yusuke: Well, maybe if you're boyfriend wasn't such a moron -
Momiji: He's NOT my boyfriend!
Serena: Well, doesn't that seem like déjà vu from the last previews? Anyway, while Darien has to play mediator between Yusuke and Kusanagi…
Momiji: And I have to be the referee between Sakura and Serena…
Serena: Only one question remains - if we're all fighting each other, who's going to be fighting the demon?!
Momiji: So stayed tune to find out the answer on the next action-packed episode of "What's My Line Again…?," Episode 5: "Fight! Fight! Fight! Can't we all just get along?!"
Yusuke: Well, where's the fun in that?!