Begin PARobot Block

AUTHOR: Shadow82

EDITOR: XrazielX

TITLE: Eternal Sailor Moon

PART: 6

PARTTITLE: Balance

CATEGORY: Series

COMMENT: Taking place two years after Sailor Stars...the Hikawa Shrine is in chaos…and now a new warrior has appeared…what conflict will ensue?

End PARobot Block

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ETERNAL SAILOR MOON

CHAPTER 6: Balance

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Mercury's eyes widened as the stranger now stood between her and the monster. She watched as the creature stopped and studied the figure before a sense of recognition crossed its features. It growled out a name - Balance, she thought - before it charged forward. The stranger, on the other hand, had raised his arm to the sky.

"DARK LIGHTNING BLAST!"

In his palm, a small ball of light began to gather into it. That orb began to quickly increase in size, till it reached the size of a large beach ball. That sphere however seemed to be suddenly choked to death as the shadows from all around began to wrap around, covering it, and shrinking it down to something the size of a grapefruit. The sky seemed to scream as it released a black bolt of lightning, sending it into and through the orb, wrapping it in four black and silver rings of lightning bolts. His hand gripped the orb, dragging it from the air as he pulled it back before launching it towards the creature before them.

She gawked in surprise as a single attack from this stranger took down a creature that all four of her fellow senshi had barely even manage to slow down. With the creature destroyed, the stranger stood alone, surveying the battlefield. Mercury paused, unsure of what to do next.

When she finally got the butterflies out her stomach, she began to speak. "Thank…."

She took a sharp breath inward as he turned harshly in her direction. She felt his glowing silver eyes focused directly on her. There was a strange shadow concealing most of his face from within the hood of his coat. She felt her body, with fear of his presence, automatically take a step backwards.

Mercury watched those eyes as he stood and moved in her direction. She watched those eyes move from her as he moved past. She turned, watching him kneel. He picked up the red crystal orb with the black flame that Usagi was holding earlier and appeared to be studying it. She watched his fist close around the orb tightly before staring at her fellow senshi. They seemed to now be starting to recover from the attack of the monster. His head then turned to her, and she noticed the glow in his eyes fade away. Along with the glow, the fear she felt towards him began to ease as well.

She watched him stand and begin to move towards her. Three steps into his walk, he abruptly stopped. He leapt up suddenly before she felt the pressure and energy of the Uranus' attack speed past. She watched him land crouched on the ground. She saw under the hood of his coat. She saw his eyes. That cold silver glow had returned to them, along with her fear.

She felt her body step back again. She also noticed that his hands were beginning to release those black bolts he used with his attack earlier. She watched him slowly stand, his body tense and both hands clenched. She knew she had to do something. He had saved her, and with the Outer Senshi attacking, she could do naught but return the favor. More than that, though, she knew she had to stop the Senshi – for their own protection.

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"Uranus, Neptune, stop! He saved…"

"That one was a warning." Uranus began, cutting Mercury off, and causing the figure's hood to turn and focus completely on her. His mouth, the only thing not shrouded by his hood, was twisted in an angered scowl.

"The next one will not miss, outsider." She finished.

The stranger turned to Mercury and had an eerie, almost dangerous smirk on his face. He raised his hand and lightly tossed the orb towards her. He then turned sharply, before becoming a blur as he shot towards the two Outer Senshi.

He's fast! Uranus thought to herself as he covered the distance from the shrine to the stairs in less time than they had to prepare a counter measure for his movement.

He stopped in front of them and delivered a hard blow to the gut of Uranus. He ducked a sudden fist from Neptune as she attempted to get him away from her partner. For her trouble, his gloved hand gripped her wrist and then the wrist of the still recovering Uranus. He twisted on the heel and balls of his feet, turning and tossing both Senshi in opposite directions from each other.

Uranus felt her body strike the ground, which helped slow the force of the throw before her body painfully came to a stop. She groaned slightly, turning her head and staring towards the direction she was thrown from. She saw the stranger there, and the smirk that was visible on his face. She then watched him turn and dash away. She let out an angered growl as she turned her focus to Neptune, to check on her condition, before glancing at Mercury.

"You two, check the princess, I'm going after him." She shouted as she pushed herself up.

Ignoring Mercury's cries to stop, she sprinted off. She rushed down the stairway leading from the temple to the street and quickly scanned the area. She caught a glimpse of his coat as he turned the corner. She smirked and sprinted forward. The chase was on.

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Uranus' eyes narrowed as she walked cautiously through the lamp lit park. She had been chasing him through the city, using backroads and alleys, as well as rooftops, to get here. He had been careful to avoid the crowds and the people on his trek towards this location. He had also made sure the location he was leading her to was a secluded one.

Uranus also had no doubt that the stranger was dictating the chase. Several times, in her pursuit, she had lost him. A couple of times she had stopped and looked around to find him waiting - with that smirk on his face. Her instincts were telling her not to follow, her pride was what forced her, and it demanded revenge.

Her eyes studied the area of the park. It was dark. The overgrowth of the trees in the area also didn't help matters. With the lack of people around, her nerves were on full alert and the uneasiness she felt made her entire body feel uncomfortable.

She took a step forward, before a rose, in full bloom, was imbedded into her path. For a brief moment she thought it could have been Tuxedo Kamen, but the rose's colors were off. The stem itself was a darker shade of green then normal roses. The petals were set in ways that shouldn't have been possible. It started from the stem white as snow, but faded into a deep black. The black in no way signified that the rose was dying, as it appeared perfectly healthy and the lack of color was as if it happened naturally in the flower.

Uranus looked up from the object and began to glance around the area for its source. All she found was the emptiness. That, and the continuing growth of shadows from the disappearance of solar light.

She could hear a dark chuckle but couldn't place the location. It sounded like it was being emitted from every shadow in the area, which included her own. She momentarily frowned at the street lamp. This only furthered her unease and fuelled her anger at the situation.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" She shouted in anger. "SHOW YOURSELF YOU COWARD!"

The chuckle continued afterwards for a few seconds, before quieting. Her senses suddenly flared as she leapt backwards. A moment afterwards, a black and white orb of energy trailing black bolts, streaked through where she had been.

She landed on her feet, her body in a battle ready position. Her eyes scanned quickly, and found the stranger in black, leaning calmly against a lamppost, staring at her. Though she still couldn't make out his full face, the lower portion still held that cocky smirk.

"That one was just a warning," the stranger said in a cold, emotionless tone, which still held that smirk. "the next one won't miss…senshi."

Uranus eyes narrowed as she sprinted forward. When she was close enough, her hand pulled back into a position to set for a quick strike to his body. She struck forward and he lazily dodged the attack. He then began to weave in and out of all the other blows she threw. This fueled her anger and as her anger grew, her punches flew faster, albeit, slightly sloppier.

However, the speed at which she was throwing her punches more than made up for her lack of style. The stranger noticed the changes of speed and adjusted accordingly. The randomness of her movements, though appeared to be causing most of his problems. She was getting in strikes to his body that he could not anticipate.

He shifted his body, as he tried to counter a kick only to be forced to stop as her movement shifted into a punch. His hand then blocked a punch and another kick. However, he completely missed the head butt which followed the combination. He didn't get to recover from the blow as he felt her hands clench his clothing. The next thing to happen was Uranus hefted him into the air and over her shoulders. He hit the ground, rolled, and got into a crouched position.

"WORLD SHAKING!"

He glanced up at the sound of Uranus' attack. He watched her fist strike the ground and release the orange orb of planet shaped wind energy. It rocketed towards him. He watched the attack and pushed himself upwards and backwards as his hands were already going through the motions of his own attack.

"DARK LIGHTNING BLAST!" He shouted as he gripped the orb of shadowy electrical energy. He pitched the attack towards Uranus' and watched the resulting collision of energies. A collision which caused an explosion of dirt, grass, concrete, and dust into the air.

"SPACE SWORD BLASTER!"

The stranger's mouth expression turned to bewilderment suddenly as a curved wave of energy exploded through the debris. He barely had enough time to cross his arms to protect himself from the attack as it connected. The next sensation was of him again being thrown through the air and across the ground. It wouldn't have been so bad, had his back not connected and gone through that lamp post, or if it wasn't for that tree which had caused his body to stop it backward motion.

He let out a groan as he pushed himself off the ground and couldn't focus his eyes. He was so focused on his sight, he almost missed the footsteps moving in his direction. He rolled out of the way as he felt the splitting of air. He rolled into a crouch, and tried to focus his eyesight again. Instinct took over as he dodged to the right as that feeling of air splitting returned. He quickly fell to his back, face up, as he felt the direction of the attack change and slice horizontal.

He immediately threw his foot outward and felt it connect with Uranus. Judging by the sound she made, he assumed it was her gut. Using the force of the kick, he pushed himself from her. He rolled backwards, crouched and waited a moment as he gathered his wits again.

Uranus on the other hand was doing the same. The blow to the gut had caught her off guard. She was now using the moment to catch her breath. A smirk crossed her face as she watched the hooded stranger, crouched and breathing heavily. She watched as he glanced around, returned his focus to her, and then stood. She followed suit.

That smirk returned to his face before he chuckled slightly.

"What's so funny?" She asked as her body dropped into an attack position. "The last I checked, you weren't handling yourself too well."

The stranger laughter stopped as he dropped into a stance. "That was because…I was underestimating you. I won't make that mistake again. I think I will fight for real….NOW!"

He leapt upwards, from the right sleeve of his coat, he pulled out two of those strange roses. The difference in these two were that the roses were in a bud stage, haven't even opening their petals in bloom. He pulled back his arm and launched them towards Uranus. Uranus in turn leapt backwards avoiding the two roses and watched as the stranger was already finishing the motions for his attack.

"DARK LIGHTNING BLAST!"

"SPACE SWORD BLASTER!" She countered in a slashing motion with the Space Sword. The weapon itself released an orange arc of energy towards the attack, causing an explosion between the two combatant forces. An explosion, which, again, lifted dust and dirt particles into the air.

Uranus was about to go through the dust cloud and attack him, when three of his budded roses shot through. She dodged them, but in the process of doing so she missed her opportunity to attack. She, though, heard him shouting.

"NOW…SHINSOU BLADE!"

She heard what sounded to be an animal howl. A moment after, a black bolt of lightning ripped through the air, but, whatever it hit was hidden in the dust. A second later the stranger's figure exploded through the cloud. She barely brought the space sword up to block a slash attack from whatever object he had. The downward motion of the slash attack had so much force behind it that she nearly lost her grip on the space sword. The attack forced her back as he pushed off of her and now stood with the object at his side downward.

In the light of the park's lamp post she saw the object, a sword, a Japanese katana. The blade seemed to be made of some sort of black crystal. The blade's negative energy screamed at her, shocking her senses. The surrounding light flickered and danced, effectively being absorbed by the strange sword. Her eyes traveled to the hilt of the weapon which appeared silver, but in the darkness she couldn't be sure.

The stranger smirked and suddenly rushed forward. She could barely follow the movements of his sword as he slashed at her. Each time he struck, she was pushed backwards. Each time, she barely defended the next strike.

He's shifted the flow of the battle, Uranus thought to herself. I have to counter or I'm finished!

Time slowed down as she tried to go on the offensive. She pushed off one of his strikes with the Space Sword and went into a countering overhead movement hoping to get a good clean hit across his chest. She began to push her and his swords' upward. To her surprise, he used the force to rotate his sword around his hand in the movement. This now placed his sword under hers and prevented her overhead. His left hand was already shooting upwards, to free up his right hand and balance the force of her blow to the blade and his left arm. His now free right hand was already moving forward in an open palm strike, which connected to her chest, throwing her back and away from him.

Uranus barely kept a grip on the Space Sword as she flew backwards. The next sensation she felt was that of her back strike the pavement from the force of the blow, bouncing once before resting. She glanced up at the stranger, rushing towards her. She watched him, flip the sword blade upright in his left hand, before tossing it to his right. She then watched him leap upward, at the same time raising the blade overhead, before coming down on her for the blow. In those same moments, she brought the Space Sword up to block weapon. .

She heard as the weapons connected. She felt him bare his weight on her with the blow as his boots struck the ground. She felt as if the bones in her fingers would shatter from the impact of his sword and weight connecting against her. However in that brief instant of pain, she caught that smirk on his face. She watched that smirk move away as that weight was relieved as he went upwards and away from her. Finally, Uranus cursed herself for not paying attention, as she felt a sharp needle like pain in her left shoulder.

Uranus glanced over at the source of the pain to find one of those budded roses of his embedded in it. She reached over to cover the wound and pull the rose out when she noticed that it was blooming. As the fingers of her right hand touched the stem of the rose, her body was suddenly over taken by large burst of pain. It was such a large amount of pain that though she had opened her mouth, a scream would not exit it.

From that now fully bloomed rose, black electrical bolts of lightning raced from it. Black bolts, which now traveled across her entire body. Black bolts which now also, traveled within her blood stream through the open wound the rose had produced. Though the effects of the rose lasted only a few seconds, to Uranus, it might as well been an eternity. When the effects of the rose ended, the darkness which accompanied was a welcomed relief.

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The stranger having rebounded from his attack landed crouched with his sword in his right hand. He was prepped to press the attack in case this little tactical slide of hand didn't work. To his pleasure, Uranus had been so focused on his sword, that when he came down for the blow, she completely missed his left hand reach into his sleeve and pull out one of his roses.

He watched as her mouth opened in a silent scream and her body arc from the current of energy being introduced to it. He watched at the rose exhausted it's own energy, stop the electrical assault, wilt away, and vanish. The only way you could tell it had ever been there was the puncture wound in the shoulder of her fuku. He then observed her body relaxed and the grip she had on her talisman go, as the weapon slip to the ground before vanishing. This signified that its' master was indeed no longer able to continue this fight. The smirk on his face grew to a full blown smile.

The stranger stood from his crouch and walked over to the unconscious body of Uranus. He noticed that her senshi form hadn't reverted back to its civilian one. This meant that he hadn't caused enough damage to her or her 'armor' to require it to do so. To try to do so now would be pointless. As he had learned in the past, no matter how much he were to harm a senshi whom was unconscious, all their untapped elemental energy went to not only protecting their bodies, but keeping their civilian identity a secret as well. In order to get her to dehenshin, he would have to beat her, attacking her armor…attacking a specific point on the fuku, but for the life of him he couldn't remember the point or the special information concerning the point.

"URANUS!" He heard the shrill cry of a feminine voice. "GET AWAY FROM HER! DEEP SUBMERGE!"

The stranger's hand produced from his sleeve four of those budded roses. He then turned and launched them in the direction of the voice. He watched as they flew into a flying orb of aqua blue planet shaped energy, ripping it apart as they bloomed inside of it. However in the process, they too were destroyed.

"dead scream." As he prepared to launch another rose in the direction that the last attack came from, he heard the barely audible whisper of another attack being launched in his direction. He leapt upwards as the attack flew past him and kept him from getting any closer to the senshi of Uranus.

With the rose still in hand he landed and faced his two attackers, whom were now in clear view. One he recognized from attacking earlier, her aqua marine hair, eyes, fuku signified her as the senshi of Neptune. The other he also recognized, but for different reasons. She was another senshi, who wore a black fuku with red ribbons adorning it. She had long green hair, some of which was tied into a bun, as well red eyes which were also filled with recognition.

"YOU!" The woman in the black fuku said aloud, in a tone of both anger and shock.

"Hello again, Pluto." The stranger spoke, his tone never raising or lowering, but still feeling cold none the less.

"Pluto, do you know who he is?" Neptune spoke as she remained in a position to attack if necessary.

"The Guardian of Balance." She spoke as her hands tightened around Garnet Staff. The garnet orb on top of the staff seemed to shimmer with a crimson light as it sensed its mistress's hostility to the stranger. "What are you doing here?"

His glowing silver eyes glanced at her as he shrugged and charismatically motioned to Uranus. "Taking out the garbage."

"Deep..."

"Neptune, st…"

He watched as those words enraged Neptune. Saw Neptune motions prepare to set up an attack. Heard Pluto as she tried to stop her fellow senshi from attacking and he was already returning to a relaxed position. He having already launched his rose at Neptune when he saw her begin the motions.

Neptune choked out a scream as the rose struck her, bloomed and released its charge into her. The effects however, as opposed to Uranus were more devastating. Her element, being water, was a highly conductive element of electricity. That, and the fact that she had been gathering said element, which had disbursed around her when she loss focus from the rose striking, only added to its increase effect. She hit the ground unconscious, smoking, and never knowing what hit her.

Pluto watched the scene, raised her garnet staff and prepared to attack, only to be stopped by one of his bloomed rose sticking in the ground in front of her. Her eyes returned focus to him as he stood staring at her.

"Don't try it." He spoke calmly. "We can still be civil. See."

Balance then raised his sword and tossed it into the shadow of a tree behind him. As soon as it was hidden in the shadow of the tree, the sound of thunder emerged from it and a pair of cobalt blue eyes peered from the darkness before vanishing.

Pluto's eyes remained focused on him before she spoke again. "What are you doing here?"

"You should know better than I."

She stared at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Your stronger than before."

"Effects of the ginzinshou."

Pluto paused, before asking her next question. "Which side of Balance are you?"

"That is my secret. Now while I enjoy this interrogation I have a question for you. Why has Saturn been reactivated?"

Pluto's eyes narrowed. "How do you know Saturn is active?"

"Her power is that of Silence. It is that Destruction and therefore closely aligned with death. Did you think I wouldn't know?" Balance growled. "You of all people should know why that little bitch shouldn't be awakened, ever." He paused, regaining his composure before speaking. "Who and where is she?"

Pluto eyes glared at the guardian. "I don't know."

"I see..." The guardian stared at her and his smirk returned. "Very well, but know this Pluto. You can't protect her forever and when I do find her, that will be her last day in this plain of existence. Until next time, Guardian."

With those final words Balance stepped backwards into the shadow of the tree and was gone. This left a confused and worried look on the Guardian of Time's face. She raised her Garnet Staff, before herself, and her fellow two Outer Senshi vanished from the scene as well.

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"Where were you?"

Ashe turned his head to the sound of Kage's voice. He had been approaching from one of the exits that lead to the parking lot of Narita Airport's second terminal. His long time friend seemed to have a smirk on his face as he approached however.

"I searched all over this place for you?" Kage finished as he stopped in front of him.

Ashe shrugged, "Custom's had some problems with the content that was in my bags." He motioned towards the airport security officers watching over him. "Had to get that stuff straightened out first."

Kage's eyebrow rose at that. "What did you do…this time."

"It wasn't my fault. A thief tried to steal my wallet. I handled him." He shrugged. "Unfortunately, a couple of people got into the crossfire of the fight."

Kage eyes twitched as he glanced at the security personal that were placed at key points now watching them both. "I should have known getting your luggage wasn't going to be an easy task.

"Speaking of luggage," He motioned to his three suitcases and a laptop bag. "Where's the rest of it?"

Kage's eyebrow rose and motioned to the parking lot. "You mean that heavy box and other thing you had me get. They are already in the car. For a man that moved around most of his life, you sure have a lot of things. What's in that box anyway, bricks?"

"Nothing like that, just a couple of dozen books, weights, and some other training equipment I found while being over there this time. I am going to be here for quite some time now and I wouldn't want to get bored."

Kage shook his head, "How could you get bored here?"

Ashe shrug, "Nobody to challenge my skill?"

Kage's right eyebrow raised a couple of centimeters to that statement. "Except me, of course?"

"Of course?" Ashe said almost dismissing his friends comment in a joking manner. "Well shall we be off?"

"Yeah." He glanced at the security officers again. "I really don't feel like being on their bad side tonight."

Kage walked over to the luggage taking two of the bags and watching as Ash slung the laptop bag over his shoulder. Ashe then took the handles of the other one, which was on wheels and followed Kage out of the Narita Airport.

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Ami let out a soft sigh as they continued to clean up the rubble and debris caused by that seeker. The Inner Senshi quickly recovered from the attacks of the creature after the stranger and Uranus had left. Michiru stayed, checking on the Usagi and the others with her till Pluto arrived and then they both went off hunting for Uranus and the stranger she had gone after. They hadn't been in contact with them since.

While they were all fine, Usagi hadn't yet recovered consciousness. She wasn't seriously injured. Her Mercury computer had shown that she had a bruise to her head when the creature attacked. At the moment she was sleeping it off in Rei's bed, though when she woke up she would have a serious headache to contend with. They had all dehenshined afterwards and were now in the process of removing the rubble from the attack.

The damage was a bit more extensive then she had originally thought. The creature had apparently come up through the floor of the kitchen area of the shrine. It had then went straight through the walls, actually ripping through the room that housed the sacred flame before ripping through the wall of Rei's room. To say the least when Rei came out, with Phobos and Deimos following behind her, she seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown herself.

"Grandpa is going to kill me."

After that statement, and helping her calm down a bit, the task of going through the wreckage had begun. Makoto was cleaning the plaster and wood in the kitchen area with the help of Minako. Rei was working on the debris and damage that had been done to her room as well as the broken walls of the house. Meanwhile, Ami had the task of cleaning up all the debris and stuff that had happened outside. All in all, the cleaning process was moving quicker than expected.

"And I tell you it wasn't my fault." A voice said from the stairway leading up to the shrine.

"Sure it wasn't and those bystanders just happened to go to the hospital because they were helping the thief?" The other voice, whom she recognized belonged to Kage.

"They blocked me when I was chasing him down…"

Ami turned her head toward the stairway and then back towards the shrines grounds itself. "Rei-chan, someone is coming up the stairway to the shrine."

Rei's head immediately shot out of the hole of her room. "Is it Grandpa?"

Ami shook her head. "No, I think it's…"

"Geez…what happened here?"

Ami looked back towards the walkway to the shrine and saw Kage and Ashe staring at the holes and various other damages done to the building. She watched as Kage sent a glance back to Ashe who shook his head, left hand closing into a fist while the right hand pointed directly at the building.

"Don't look at me…you and I both know I didn't do this." Ashe shouted at his companion.

"I don't know," Kage said shrugging his shoulders. "First the airport. I wouldn't doubt it if you caused this before the…"

"Kage-sensei, Ashe-senpai?" Ami voice questioned and interrupting their argument.

Kage glanced at Ami and a small smile crossed his face. "Ami-san." He glanced at the hole which Rei was now emerging from.

"Well we finished cleaning the debris in the kitchen, but there is still a whole in the floor and it looks like the pipes have been broken."

They heard Makoto's voice as she and Minako were now emerging from the hole and were soon followed by the two cats Kage had seen earlier.

"Wow, must have been some party." Ashe chuckled.

"Rei-san, Minako-san, Makoto-san." Kage acknowledged before he glanced at the two cats. "And I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting these two yet.

Ami glanced at Luna and Artemis and motioned to them both. "Oh, Kage-sensei. This is Luna." She said motioning to the black cat. "and this is Artemis." She said motioning to the white cat.

Kage watched at both cat meowed in unison, causing him to stare at them curiously before smiling. "It is a pleasure to meet you both, too"

Kage heard a couple of crow caws and glanced up to see two black crows flying towards him before the larger of the two, took a perch on his shoulder.

"Deimos?" Rei said in shock, and confused as she made her way over to him. "I'm sorry Kage-san, she usually doesn't do this, especially to strangers."

"No, no, it's fine Rei." Kage said as he took a hand and begin gently caressing the feathers just below the beak. "And you remember me, don't you girl."

The bird simply cawed in response, prompting another shocked look out of Rei.

"How do you know..…"

"REI!"

The voice of an older male cut through the conversation and prompted a panic stricken look from Rei. They all turned to see a short, bald, older man whom was dressed in the robes of a Shinto priest. Besides him was a taller man whom was also dressed in robes of a Shinto priest, and had a brown mullet, which seemed to cover his eyes.

"G-g-g-Grandpa!" Rei exclaimed as her eyes fell to those of the smaller of the two.

"REI, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SHRINE!"

"Well…you see Grandpa…I...uhm…I mean we…"

Ashe took this moment to step forward. "Well it seems that there was this problem with the underground piping here at the shrine. I think there was a pressure built up and the force is what caused the holes you see now."

Rei's eyes widened as Ashe seemed to take the attention from her to him. Grandpa Hino's eyes turned from Rei and focused on Ashe as well.

"And you are?"

Ashe stepped forward and bowed. "Ashe. Ashford Caerwyn." He straightened up as he watched the older man study him. "I'm the foreign exchange student that has been placed with you for the time being."

Grandpa Hino raised an eyebrow before smiling. "Ahh…it's a welcome to have you here. Though I'm sorry you were here for this unfortunate problem. I would be very appreciative if you could help us out in cleaning this mess."

Kage shot Ashe a look. Ashe nodded, shook his head, before shrugging. Kage chuckled a bit allowed which drew the attention of Grandpa to him. Minako moved closer to Ashe and raised an eyebrow as Grandpa seemed to move over to Kage and study him.

"Ashe, what was that look Kage gave you?"

"What? Oh that was a look that told me that I was going to become Grandpa's slave for the time I was here. He asked if I wanted to take him up on his offer and to get out while I still could." Ashe whispered. "I told him that we would see about that, but I didn't mind earning my keep to an extent."

Minako's eyes widened. "You got ALL of that from a look?"

Ashe shrugged. "What can I say, it's a guy thing."

"I know you from somewhere, but don't tell me." Grandpa said as he paused before breaking out into a full smile. "Yes, now I remember, how could I forget my greatest pupil."

Kage chuckled before bowing. "It is good to see you once again sensei."

Rei stared at him confused. "Grandpa, do you know Musha-san?"

"Know him. I practically helped raise the boy into the fine martial artist he is now." Grandpa said aloud with a hint of pride in his voice. "So what brings you back to Tokyo my boy? Have you come back to finally take Rei-chan's hand."

"GRANDPA!" Rei exclaimed.

"No, no sensei." Kage said shaking his head and raising his hands. "I've taken over the family business so you don't have to worry about the damages done here. My people will take care of it."

"Ahh, I am very thankful for that. And you have definitely become quite a fine young man Kage-san. Kage you do know that Hikawa Shrine has historically been noble, but I don't have any grandsons. Therefore I am looking for a son-in-law who would marry Rei and inherit the shrine."

Kage just started chuckling as he placed a hand behind his head.

The blush on Rei face seemed to grow as she stared at the two of them and shouted her next words out.

"GRANDPA!"

To be continued……