Groaning, I lazily opened my eyes and wondered what had awakened me from my sleep. The airline stewardess was talking again, trying to inform her passengers that they would be landing shortly. I went to rub my eyes, but found my right arm being unable to move. Inspecting it, I noticed Maron's arms encircling it with her head resting on my shoulder. I slowly pried it from her death grip, waking her in the process, and rubbed it sorely. Although she had a comfortable position, I was sure my poor arm would hurt for the rest of the day.

Winter Break II

By: Satashi

"Crowded," was all Maron could say as the two looked around the airport. Fin sat on her shoulder wile Access chose rather to sit on top of Chiaki's head. "How on earth are we supposed to find anything in a place like this?"

"It's not so bad," Chiaki point off to the side. "That's where we pick up our luggage. Then we go over there," he moved his hand to point in another direction. "And we'll get our car. From there we'll head to the hotel."

"You've done this before?" She looked at him impressed. "Wow, I never thought you'd left the country before." Maron followed after him and showed her passport to the officer when Chiaki did so. "Where did you go?"

"I've never left the country before," He grinned and nodded his head in an upwards fashion. "I just read the signs."

Maron looked upward, where a large sign that said 'Luggage collection' in big bold letters. "Oh. I see." Truthfully she didn't even think to translate the sign to understand it. In school, luckily for her, the subject she excelled in was English. She assumed it was because it was very similar to French, which she had known fluently since the first time she transformed. "Wait a moment, you can read English?"

"Of course," he looked at her as if she was stupid. "Almost every single medical book is in English. America has always had better medical technology. You lose information in translations so Dad always got them in English. I learned the language without even thinking about it."

"I see," She filed the information off in her mind to remember not to underestimate him about anything in the future. "Well then we're set on language then. That's a plus." The pair somehow managed to fight their way through the crowd and claim their belongings. A few moments later they emerged from the building and into a parking lot. Their eyes sweeped the area before Maron spotted someone holding a sign that said 'Nagoya' on it. "Chiaki," her hand grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and she pointed. "I think that's for you."

He looked over to the man and made eye contact. "I'm Chiaki Nagoya," he greeted the man in English, somehow remembering to put his first name fist instead of what he was used to.

"Mr. Nagoya, welcome to America." The man holding the sign extended his hand, which Chiaki shook after setting down Maron's load of baggage. "Minazuki has instructed me to insure that you get your car as well as anything else that you should need."

"Right now, I'd just like to get to my hotel."

"I will take you there. Where do you have reservations?"

Chiaki rooted through his pockets a moment before Maron tapped him on the shoulder and handed him the pamphlet that had all the information on it. He gave her a sheepish grin and looked at it, assuming the man couldn't read Japanese. "The Sheraton, it's on 213 Johnson Street. If you can just tell me directions I'm sure I can find it."

"Oh no sir, I was instructed to take you anywhere you need to be." He handed Chiaki a card that had his name and phone number on it. "The Minazuki Corporation has sent me specifically to you on request from the grandson of the Japanese main branch. Just give me a call and I will come pick you up at anytime. We have a separate driver for night shifts so please never hesitate to use our services."

"You mean," Maron pointed to the limousine behind the man speaking to them. "We're going to ride in that?"

"Of course," He opened the door for them. "Please, step in. the heater is already on and I will take care of your belongings."

Maron did as she was asked, glad to get out of the wind. Her boyfriend soon followed and grinned at her as the man closed the door. "Says here his name is Jack," he told her, naturally going back into Japanese language. "We have to call Yamato later and thank him for this. Don't tell anyone but I was a little nervous about driving over here." He winked at her, getting a giggle.

"My Hero. Where are we anyway?"

"In a limo."

She slapped his arm and grinned. "No, really. Where are we?"

"New York." He showed her a map that he apparently just got from Jack. Pointing to it, he started to explain. "We're right here now. This area," he circled a section out with his finger. "Is the amusement park, Maron Dome. It's out of the city, probably an hour or so drive. Not really sure since I don't even know what traffic is like here or whatever. But anyway, we're on the other side of town. Once we get settled in we'll get some dinner, sightsee a bit, and then get some sleep."

"I slept enough on the plane."

"It's called Jet-lag," he touched her nose, making her blink. "If we don't get used to the time schedule over here now we'll be sleepy all daytime over here." His finger trailed down her lips and lifted her chin up just enough to steal a kiss. Maron gave it to him contently; happy at one of his rare affectionate spells. It was quickly ruined, however, when his hand grabbed her breast.

The window toward the front of the limo rolled down and Jack looked back at them, where Maron was smiling and Chiaki rubbing his cheek. "The glass is soundproof," he explained to them. "So if you would like to tell me anything, press the button next to the window and it'll roll down. Is there anywhere else you want to go before your hotel?"

"No, just the hotel," Maron told him with a happy look.

"Yes 'mam." The window rolled up at Maron turned to Chiaki, suddenly angry at him again.

"Can't you keep your hands to yourself for five minutes?"

"It's your fault!"

"How is it my fault?" she demanded, glaring.

"If you weren't so beautiful I wouldn't be tempted," he countered her smoothly, flashing the smile that made girls melt before him.

Maron wasn't fooled by it though, but instead looked away with a light blush. "I don't mind, but not in public, geeze."

Arms snaked around her waist and she found herself pulled into his lap. "So, when we get to our hotel…?" He trailed off his sentence and nuzzled her neck. Maron flushed, tried to stammer out an answer, and finally turned to look at him. Chiaki had his chin resting on her shoulder while giving her big puppy dog eyes. "I just want to hold you, Maron."

Giving in, she couldn't help but give him a smile. "You're so cute sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" He smiled up at her cutely.

"Don't push your luck." She touched his nose and winked.

"You ever get the feeling you're being ignored?" Access asked Fin, who at some point started to fly around on the inside of the limousine.

"Wow. Just wow." Chiaki walked into the room that he would be spending the next two weeks in. The bellhop brought the rest of their things in while he started to inspect things and hop on the bed. Maron soon joined him in ogling their room, commenting on how they even had a stove and microwave. "It's like a one room-home!"

Maron pointed to the single bed and raised an eyebrow quizzically at him. "Mighty sure of yourself aren't you?"

"Hey, Dad reserved it, not me." Chiaki smiled and crawled on the bed over to her, grabbing her and tossing her down on it as well. "Are you complaining?" He lent down and started kissing her neck.

"Mmmm…. Chiaki, I want to go sight seeing today too." Her fingers threaded through his hair and her head titled to give him more to kiss. "Can't you wait until tonight? I –Ahn- want to…..to….." Her eyes closed and she took a long intake of air as his kisses drifted lower and her shirt was re-arranged. "Okay, five minutes…" A hot blush shot over her face. "Ten. Ten minutes."

Ignoring his partner's whims, Access flew over to the Window and threw the curtains back to look out. "Maron!" Fin's words caught his ear but he didn't seem interested. "Maron you're too young to do that! Chiaki stop kissing her!" He finally turned to look and was quite amused to see Chiaki quite literally be pulled off her by the small angel.

"But, but!" Chiaki looked to Maron back to fin, then again to Maron who was now embarrassedly fixing her shirt. "Aw man I was so close. SO close!" He sighed as Maron patted his hair on the way to her suitcases.

"Let's unpack, get some food, then you're taking me to the statue of liberty." She unzipped the bag in front of her, but slid it out of the way. "Here, this one's yours."

"No it's not, I only have two bags," He looked down into it and blinked. "Huh? I didn't pack that."

"I did," she answered him while going through one of her own and filling a drawer up with her pajamas. "I knew you wouldn't pack enough so I did all your packing for you."

"I can pack just fine!" He grabbed fistfuls of his cloths and started shoving them randomly into another large drawer.

"You forgot your toothbrush, comb, deodorant…"

Chiaki paused as he realized that she was right. "I-I was going to buy some more when I got here." His packing speed increased and Maron actually saw a faint bit of embarrassed red run across his face.

"Sure, sure."

The unpacking lasted the better part of half an hour, mainly because Maron refused to let Chiaki help her finish after he had found the suitcase which held her underwear. She confined him and Access to the bed and continued to finish the job while he watched TV. When she was done, she announced that she was getting rather hungry and asked if Chiaki would buy her dinner.

"You guys have fun," Access waved at them, flipping through the channels when Chiaki abandoned his remote. "I'm gonna stay here and chill."

"Don't you want to see America?" Maron asked him, leaning down and looking at the small angel who shrugged. "And you, Fin?"

The other angel in the room looked around before going to the window. "I'm going to fly around and look. I can find my way back by honing in on Access's power."

"Be good, Access," Chiaki gave his partner a goodbye and headed out, soon followed by Maron. As they walked down the hallway, the male called Jack and asked him to pick them up. After clicking off his phone he grinned down at his girlfriend. "He's in the parking lot. Aprently they just kind of wait around on you."

"How convenient." She clasped her hands behind her back as they walked. "By the way, Chiaki…" He made a small sound to show he was listening to her. "I kind of don't have any money…"

"Of course not. We didn't stop to get our yen transferred into dollars."

She stopped walking and blinked. "If you knew that, how do you plan on paying for things? We left so quickly there was no way I could get any money together for this!"

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a credit card. "This." His fingers twisted and he revealed a similar one behind the first. "The second one is yours," He handed it to her. "They are linked to my account in Japan. Dad has it set so it will withdraw from the hospital that he owns. Whatever we spend here, I'll pay back by working when we get back. Shouldn't take more than a week or two."

"You really are rich…" She took the card, that had 'Maron Kusakabe c/o Chiaki Nagoya' printed neatly on it in English. "I still don't like taking your money like this…"

"I expect you to pay it all back," He grinned at her.

"Of course," She looked away.

"With one thousand kisses." He leaned over and kissed her temple. "First payment made, nine-hundred, ninety-nine left." He gave her a cute look, which she returned laughing. Grabbing his arm, they continued along the way to the limo that waited downstairs.

"Are we there already?" Maron asked as the limo stayed stopped for longer than what she expected a red light would last. "Where are we?"

Chiaki made his way to the front of the limo and pressed the button to roll down the window that divided the driver from them. "Hey Jack, what's the hold up?" His eyebrows rose lightly when he saw several police cards around the area ahead of them. "What's going on?"

"A gang war," Jack informed him, slowly starting to flow with the traffic as the police detoured them around. "Lately the two rival gangs have been going at each other for turf. It weird, though, they used to not bother with it. The Cartion gang is known for being defensive, not aggressive. Lately they've been attacking the 'lords gang." Turning back to him, Jack grinned. "But don't worry, we're going around them and with our services you'll never be walking alone so there's nothing to fear."

"Alright then. Thanks." Chiaki leaned back and made his way back over to Maron as the window rolled up. "Maron, he says that… What is it?"

"I could have sworn that it beeped at me," She told him, holding her clair. "I heard it, but when I looked it was silent."

"You're imagining things. There hasn't been an attack for three months now. Don't worry about it." He sat down next to her and put one hand over the rosary around his neck. No ill feeling came to him so he disregarded the situation. "Maybe it was your cell phone."

"…Yeah…"

"Did you find anything, Fin?" Access asked as the girl flew into their hotel room.

"I felt something bad while I was over in one of the darker areas of town, but it didn't seem to be a demon. Or if it was; a very weak one."

"You think the devil is trying something again?"

She shook her head. "There are several small demons running around on earth. Not all of them are after hearts for power. Maybe it is just one looking out of greed."

"But still, a human is possessed?"

She looked down. "Yeah. We should tell-"

"-No," Access cut her off. "They don't need to know. If Jeanne found out about all the small ones running around, she would start checkmating again, even though they hold no threat against us."

"And Chiaki?"

"Sinbad would ignore them, unless Jeanne started going out again. It would get out of hand. I'm sure he would go around nightly sealing them just so Jeanne wouldn't have to. If they started colleting chess pieces then the power would grow and stronger demons would attack us to collect the power. Besides, we're in America. It's not our area."

Fin sat down on the bed next to him. "I suppose you're right. No harm done." She blushed as Access's wing brushed hers. "Access…"

"Hm? What is it?" He turned to look over at her, only to get slapped.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" Fin humped at him and flew away, grumbling about Chiaki's bad influences on him.

Chiaki sighed to himself as he fumbled for the keycard to his door later that night. They had gotten back around midnight, but neither of them were tired yet so he went to get them some drinks from the vending machine down the hall. He was thankful that his debit card also acted as an ATM as well.

Upon entering his room, he kicked off his shoes and walked around the small corner to the beds. "Here you go, Maron, I got you a… a…. "His eyes drifted over her. She wore a skimpy tank top that showed her stomach and what appeared to be a pair of short shorts and precious little else. She gave him a confused look and reached out to him to collect her drink, the motion showing him the underside of her breast. "A shower," he pointed to the bathroom suddenly. Maron tilted her head to the side quizzically. "I mean the shower. I'm going to." His eyes couldn't leave her, and his breath caught in his throat from the enticing sight. "Taking one, I mean. Yeah. I'm going to take a shower." He took a step back, stumbled over the shoes he just kicked off, and retreated back into the bathroom, panting. "A freezing cold shower…"

When he emerged again half an hour later, he found Maron still sitting on the bed, only this time with the covers up to her chin in an attempt to keep warm without making the room too hot with the heater. "American shows are weird," She informed him, still channel surfing. "I haven't found one thing that's really worth watching."

"Really?" He sat behind her with his legs on either side of her and gently wrapped his hands around her waist. "Nothing at all?"

"Nuh-uh." She waited a moment for him to grope her in some way so she could stop it before it started. Access and Fin were already asleep on a spare pillow on the table but she was still a little shy about being affectionate with him while they were in the same room. When no touching followed she turned back to look at him. "Chiaki?"

"Hm?" He gave her his attention. When she didn't say anything for a while, he tried again. "What?"

"You're not going to grab me?"

"No, why?"

"You're just going to sit there and not take advantage of me in a hotel room in another country while I'm in my underwear?"

"I just want to hold you, is that bad?"

She eyes him skeptically. "You just want to hold me?"

"Un." He nodded.

"Really?"

"Really."

"You're not lying to get my guard down?"

"No, really."

"You only want to hold me and not strip me down naked and pin me on the bed and ravish me until I scream your name over and over in throws of passion?"

"…Well I didn't!"

She checked his temperature. "Well you don't feel sick…"

"Hey, can't I just hold you every now and then?" He looked a little offended, but suddenly didn't know what to feel when her look on him changed. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He blinked and found her soon shifting in his lap with her arms around his neck. A few gentle kisses followed, preceded by the turning off of the TV.

"You're so cute sometimes," She whispered to him, kissing again. "You can hold me anytime you want." She felt herself being laid back onto the bed and smiled. A long moment passed where the two whispered to each other in between kisses.

Access snored lightly across the room, spread out on the pillow with Fin, somehow, using his stomach for a pillow herself. The small girlish giggles from Maron didn't seem to faze them, nor did the small squeaks that soon followed. Fin shifted lightly and brought one hand up to hold onto Access's in her sleep. A moment of silence followed before Maron's words drifted out in the night. "Mm… be gentle."

"Maron? Maron wake up already!" Fin's voice pestered her until the girl slowly opened one eye. "Finally. Come on Maron, it's already past nine here. You're supposed to be at the Maron Dome today at one Remember?"

"Oh yeah…" She thought aloud, still half asleep. "Wake me up at twelve then…" She snuggled closer to Chiaki and brought the covers up over her chin.

"You need to get up now!" Fin scolded, flying down to her ear. "Maron!"

"Fine, fine, I'm getting up. I'm getting up." She slowly sat up in her bed, keeping the covers to her chin. "Thank you, Fin."

"Does he always sleep without a shirt on?" Fin asked in a cross between embarrassed and protective way of Maron. "I swear he's always trying to take advantage of you."

"Actually…" Maron blushed darkly; glancing around to make sure Access was still asleep before lowering the covers.

"Maron?" Fin shrieked out, stuttering around her full blush. "You didn't?"

She scratched the back of her head a moment in a shy manor before turning to look at Chiaki, who muttered her name in his sleep and lightly moved his arm to try and find her again. Her eyes shone at him as she leaned over to peck his temple. "Stay asleep; I'll wake you when I'm out of the shower."

Fin landed on her shoulder and proceeded to cry about how she had lost 'her Maron' to the 'perverted enemy of all women'. Maron consoled her, more amused than sorry, and decided to leave out the fact that they had been that close ever since the night of the final battle. Finally she calmed down her angel enough to take a hot shower.

When she emerged again, she had a towel wrapped around her waist and was thankful of it when she saw Access sitting up on his pillow, obviously awoken by the hair dryer. Fin distracted him easily enough while she got dressed and then crawled onto the bed where Chiaki still slept. She blew lightly across his face, making him squint his eyes. A giggle passed and she did it again, this time making him reach up to rub his face. "Chi-a-ki," She cooed his name, finally making him look at her. "Get up. We need to leave soon."

"Okay…" He got up on the first try and scratched his hair, which was sticking up everywhere. "Aw, I wanted to shower with you." His remark was interrupted half way by a yawn but Maron still gave him an appreciative smile/blush combo.

"Tonight maybe. Get ready, please?"

"Okay," He called out to Access and the two went into the bathroom for their morning shower.

"Mou," Fin complained as Maron bathed in her after glow of love making. "You're too young to be doing that. Are you listening to me Maron? Maron!"

"Is this the place?" Maron grabbed Chiaki's arm suddenly, making him stop. "He's supposed to be here, right?" She looked around the Café at the Amusement Park. "I-I don't even know what he looks like. Slowly she moved behind him and looked around his shoulder. "What if he doesn't want to see me?"

"It's too late to get cold feet, Maron." He told her gently, looking over his shoulder at her. "My dad already contacted Takumi and confirmed the meeting place." He looked at the little note in his hand and pointed. "Section C, table fourteen." He moved his hand to the right and left it pointing to a table where two people were sitting with their backs to them. The female had long brown hair that matched Maron's, and the male with short hair that looked the same.

"Dad…Mom… They're together…" Maron's hand gripped Chiaki's arm almost painfully hard. "What if their 'family issues' is deciding who has to take care of me after the divorce? What if they are only together so one can walk away free…? What if…"

"Maron!" Chiaki turned on her, ripping his arm free. "Don't think like that. Be strong." He held her shoulders to keep them from shaking.

"I'm not strong! I'm scared!" Tears formed in her eyes and the noise made Fin and Access emerge from her purse, where they had been riding. "I'm too scared, I can't do this. If they say I'm not wanted…. If they don't need me…" She looked up at him, crying freely. "How can I live on my own again after hearing that?"

"I understand." Chiaki pulled up a chair and gently pushed Maron into it. She was behind her parents and out of the way so they couldn't see her but could still hear. Maron looked up at him confused, and gripped the chair harder when he started walking over to the pair. Her hand reached out desperately to catch his but it missed by a mere few inches. Her mouth opened to call out to him but somehow her voice wouldn't come.

Access flew over to Chiaki and landed on his shoulder. "You know what you're doing, Sinbad?"

"No." He stood in front of the two, who looked up at him. The male got to his feet and offered his hand to him before stopping and giving him a confused look. "I'm his son," Chiaki answered the unasked question. "Truthfully, my dad wasn't going to meet you, I asked him to set it up so I could. I'm assuming you're Kusakabe Takumi, Kusakabe Koron?" He made an extra emphasis on their last names. When they gave him an odd look he wondered if they even spoke Japanese anymore after all the time spent away.

"Nice to meet you." Takumi finally said. "You look just like your father." He motioned to the girl beside him. "You Aprently already know us, but I'll introduce anyway. This is Koron, my fiancée."

Chiaki saw Maron's shoulders get stiff at the mention of the word. "Why would you want to meet us?" Koron asked politely, if not a bit confused.

"I came on behalf of your daughter." Both of them flinched at the mentioning of Maron. "What the hell have you two been doing all this time?" He demanded, suddenly aware of all the pent up frustration he had at the pair in front of him. "I understand from up to three months ago, but after that there is no reason you didn't hop the first flight home!" His fist slammed on the table, making a few people look at him. "Aren't you worried about her?"

The two adults looked away from him. A moment of silence passed before Takumi answered. "It's not that. I don't know how you know about what happened three months ago, but it's not like we haven't tried." He met Chiaki's eyes. "It was like waking from a nightmare. All of a sudden everything came crashing down on me all at once. I called Koron that night and she said she felt the exact same way."

"Why didn't you call Maron?" Chiaki once again demanded.

"We didn't even know what was going on with us!" Koron finally spoke, her voice breaking into a sob. "I just can't face her like this… I'm so scared she'll yell at me and tell me to never see her again, that she can live alone like she had been…"

"We just wanted some time to collect ourselves before going back to Japan and confronting her…" Takumi was speaking again to him. "That's why I took the job of remodeling the amusement park there. But we couldn't go back divorced-"

"So we decided to re-apply our vows here before coming back."

"But who are you to ask us all of this? How do you know Maron?"

Chiaki looked behind them, seeing Maron standing up, tears falling down her face with a bright smile. Fin nodded over at him to show that she was ready to meet them, so the boy answered the question honestly. "I'm her lover."

"Chiaki!" Maron shouted his name, suddenly quite embarrassed at him telling her parents that. The two adults stood up quickly, turning to see their daughter standing not five feet from them. "Mom… Dad…" Maron took a small step forward.

"Maron…" All at once the three ran to each other, hugging and crying.

"Kodak moment," Access commented from Chiaki's shoulder.

"Ah." He leaned back, balancing his chair on the back two legs. "She'll be kissing me for months thanks to this."

"Oi, is that all you ever think about?" Access smirked at him.

The re-united family sat back down at the table a few moments later and Chiaki just listened to Maron tell them excitedly that she was in the gymnastics club at school, the competitions she competed in, the friends she made over time, how she got by on her own, and everything else in her life except for the small part about her being Jeanne. Chiaki smiled. No demon had attacked since the day they brought Fin back to her senses. There was no reason to tell them about it.

His thoughts were shattered when his necklace started to vibrate ever so lightly. Access stood up on his shoulder and started to look around frantically. "Maron, is that your cell phone?" Her mother asked her, pointing to her purse. "I think you're getting a call."

Maron looked at her purse and slowly opened it, seeing her clair flashing wildly at her. Fin landed on the table and looked up at Maron, torn between telling her not to worry about it or to make some excuse to get away for a moment. The girl slowly looked over to Chiaki desperately.

"Ah, I just remembered," Chiaki stood up abruptly. "I have to take care of something." He nodded to Maron's parents and then patted his girlfriend's head. "I'll take care of it, don't worry about anything. I'll tell you everything I find out later tonight." He bent over and kissed her cheek before running away with Access flying behind him.

"Access!" He demanded as he ran toward the direction where the uneasy feeling was coming from. "I thought they were all gone!"

"They are!" His partner countered. "All the demons at war were sealed! These are just ones that escaped hell!"

"You can escape hell?" He asked, amazed, as he took a sharp corner and ducking behind a large trash bin. "I think they are right over there. Can you move in and give me more detail?"

"Yeah, it's a weak one." Access flew over him and around to the group of people huddled together. Chiaki pressed his back against the bin and slowly a familiar sensation ran up his spine. His power increased, his vision sharpened, the very air around him began to have more meaning. He closed his eyes and when they re-opened, he saw white hair in his vision and the light comfortable fighting cloths of Sinbad.

"Sinbad! The demon is in a golden gun that the leader has. He's the one with the black shirt!"

"Are they hostile?"

Access gave a light smile. "They all have guns and knives from what I can tell. Some kind of street gang."

"Something like that can't stop me." Sinbad leapt onto the employee only stairway that was across from him on the side of the building. From there he took a good assessment on what he was up against. Six people were all huddled together wearing red shirts with black pants, except for one, who wore the inverse. He held up two fingers and a notice formed between them, to which he threw down.

The leader of the group caught the piece of paper and read it aloud. "I will steal the beauty of the golden gun. Kaitou Sinbad." He looked around with the rest of his members, who didn't think to even check above them.

"Up here!" Sinbad shouted as he leapt from the stairs. His boomerang knocked the person who reacted the fastest away, giving him time to land and lash out his foot to take care of another. A knife was thrust past his face, to which he grabbed the man's arm and rammed his elbow into his chest before neatly spin kicking him.

"Who the hell are you?" the leader demanded, pulling out the gun and aiming at him. Two more joined in, taking aim.

"Kaitou Sinbad has arrived," was all he told them, eyes glaring at the guns. Access flew from gun to gun and finally gave him thumbs up. "Guns are worthless against me. Step back and give me the golden one, then I will be off."

"Kill him!"

The two lackeys all pulled the triggers to their guns, only to have them fall apart thanks to Access's tweaking of them. "Impossible!" one of them gasped out, stepping back. "He didn't even touch them!"

The leader pulled the trigger to his gun, aiming for Sinbad's chest. The thief was already out of the way, however, and was running toward him with a pin in his hand. A second shot rang out, followed by four more. "You're out of bullets." Sinbad told him, right in his face.

He had to leap to the side, however, as the first person he knocked down managed to shoot in his direction. "Several more are coming!" Access shouted out, playing spotter for him. "Sinbad this doesn't look good! If all of them have guns, you'll be shot for sure!"

"I don't back down, Access!" Sinbad focused his magic together and put on a burst of speed. Slowly he started to take the people down who rushed him with a combination of weapons from his cloak and hand to hand.

A rather hard object collided with the back of his head, making his vision get blurry for a moment. The gang members took advantage of this and pressed their attack. Ever so slowly Sinbad started to get hit from their attacks and cut from the daggers they used.

"I'm rusty," He told access, panting. Several bodies lay strewn in the alleyway, but no matter how many he dropped, more seemed to have appeared to replace them. "If I don't checkmate soon, I may lose the chance."

"You should get Jeanne," Access told him, looking around. "Together you can make short work out of them."

"She's with her parents right now," he replied, smirking. "Come on, Access Time, let's get serious." He ran into the group that opposed him and began to fight in earnest, dropping them left and right. Several small cuts started to flake his trench coat but he pressed on. Finally he managed to jump from them and land in front of the leader, who pointed the gun at him again, firing rapidly.

Sinbad dropped down and swept kicked him, making him fall. His hands clasp together and from the air, pulled a long black pin. "Check-"

A shot of ropes shot around his ankles, wrapping around him rapidly before two small weights hit his legs, making him almost lose his balance. The trick was used by Miyako a lot, and by now he was used to it. He reached into his coat to pull a dagger from it, but the ropes jerked on him much harder than humanly possible.

The reason was soon made clear to him as he saw the other side of the rope tied to the trailer hitch on a truck that was smoking tires. His body shot across the ground as the truck sped off, dragging him across the concrete. The truck took a sharp turn, making his body roll across the group so fast he almost blacked out from it.

His body slammed into a light pole, making it feel like his right arm broke on contact. Second later he hit something else, but screamed out in pain before he could even tell what it was. He didn't know how long he was dragged behind the vehicle, but when he was finally cut free, he slid into a building hard and lay there; bleeding from the cuts and burns the concrete gave him clear through his cloths.

"Sinbad! Sinbad speak to me!" Access landed next to him and tried to shake him. "Sinbad, say something! Anything!"

"Ma…ron…" His voice was harsh and painful. Slowly he rolled over onto his back and coughed out in pain, blood splashing his lips. "He...lp…….me…" he rolled over again and Access realized that it was his nerves making him do so. "Maron……..help…..." his eyes were starting to get hazy, and Access knew he was using all the energy he had left to page Maron's clair. "Help…" he said one last time before passing out.

"Maron, is that your phone again?" Takumi asked his daughter then the familiar beeping of her clair started up again.

Maron waved it off nervously, reaching into her purse and shoving the clair deeper down into it so it couldn't' be heard. "No, no, don't worry about it. That's just my alarm for gymnastics practice is all." She laughed nervously before happily changing the subject. "Oh yeah, Mom, did you do any sports while you were in school?"

Fin looked nervously at the purse, and tried to ignore the feeling of dread she had in her heart. Surely Chiaki could take care of anything that happened. She looked up at Maron, who was actively talking to her parents and smiling as if she owned the world itself.

"Sinbad? Sinbad!" Access tried everything he could think of to make him wake back up, but was afraid to touch most of his body since he was covered in scrapes and burns.

"Is this the guy?" a voice came up, making Access turn around. A group of people were all huddled by him, looking. At first he thought they were there to help, but when he noticed that each of them were holding guns, he began to panic.

"What an idiot, taking on all the Cartion at the same time."

"He took down almost half of them single handedly," another protested. "If they hadn't grabbed him with the rope, they would have lost for sure!"

"Out of the way, yo, let me take a look at him." A new person with a white tank top and torn jeans knelt down next to the fallen thief. "Oh man. Oh man, yo. This here's Sinbad, yo!"

"Sinbad?"

"You know this guy, Tyrone?"

"He's a legend, fools!" Tyrone yelled at them. "Get the van; we're taking him before the police get here."

"Is that smart? We should kill him right here."

"Hey! He fought against the Cartion, did he not? Any enemy of them is a friend of ours, yo! No open the doors and let's get the hell out of here!"

Access was thrown out of the way by the man Tyrone as he lifted the body of Sinbad up and ran to the van with him. Taking to the air, Access flew after them, but the door slammed shut, almost catching his wing. As the van pulled away, he heard police sirens starting to get close. "Hang on Sinbad," Access spoke to himself, watching the van speed away. "I'll get help and find you."

A/N:Dedicated to Lena; thanks for the review

Chapter 3 coming soon