Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Sailor Moon or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International. Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha.
A Phantom's Love and Courage
Chapter 9: Danny Phantom in Juban:The Search for the Sailor Guardians IV
Danny and Makoto had finished eating the lunch together and Makoto decided it was time to leave.
Danny, for reasons he still didn't register, didn't want to stop talking to her yet and offered to carry her items as a way of saying thanks for the meal.
"You don't need to do this, Danny-Kun..."Makoto said as the boy carried her blanket and now-empty bento box.
"It's the least I can do...I mean, you did share your lunch with me. I figured I could at least help you carry your stuff for you..."Danny said, wanting to be a gentleman.
Makoto heard this and giggled.
"Alright, if you insist..."She said.
During this walk, the two teens began talking and chatting some more.
"So, where are you visiting from?..."She asked, already knowing he's new here.
Danny thought about it and decided it couldn't hurt to reveal where he from, since he didn't see any harm it would do.
"I'm from Amity Park, Illinois. That's in the United States..."He explained.
"That's pretty far from here...what brings you to Japan?..."Makoto asked.
"I...uh...I'm visiting some friends of the family. And I was doing some sightseeing here..."Danny lied.
"I'm actually sent here by a certain cryptic, know-it-all time master to meet 5 Japanese super heroes in short skirts to take down some bad guy, but I can't say that..."He thought, but knew that he couldn't say.
"So...Makoto...where to?..."He asked, still carrying her items.
"My place isn't that far from here. We can leave this there..."She said.
"Oh, okay..."Danny said as they kept walking.
However, he kept looking at the tall Japanese girl and couldn't help himself from admiring the statuesque beauty that he has recently met.
"She is taller than me and kicks major butt. She helped me against those jerks without even knowing and she's an amazing cook. If only girls like her went to my school..."He thought, looking at her.
Makoto noticed his staring and was a bit curious as to why.
"Why are you staring at me like that?..."She asked, not as an accusation but out of confusion.
Danny realized what he was doing, flinched and tried to save face.
"I...I was staring...I didn't even notice. I was just...uh...noticing how nice your...rose earrings were.."He said, looking embarrassed and lied quick.
"Oh, thank you..."She said.
"Yeah..."He said with a nervous smile, while he internally berated himself .
"Way to go, Fenton. You barely know this girl an hour and you're already coming off as a huge dork. Just try to act normal..."He thought, mentally berating himself.
Makoto blinked in confusion and raised a brow, wondering what was going through his mind. Despite that, Danny tried to shift the topic of their conversation towards something else.
The teens kept walking and talking, getting to know more of each other.
A little later
Danny and Makoto soon arrived to her apartment complex. Makoto entered, taking her items with her and then left them there. On her way out of it, she locked the door and turned to face her new friend.
"Thank you once again for carrying my items all the way here, Danny. That was very nice of you..."Makoto said in an appreciative tone.
"No problem. Like I said, it's the least I could do..."Danny said as he rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner.
"So...uh...are you doing anything else today?..."Danny asked.
"Eh...since there is no school today. I was just thinking of maybe doing a little shopping...maybe go to the arcade..."She said.
"There's an arcade near here?..."Danny asked, sounding intrigued.
Makoto smiled.
"Of course, Japan's no stranger when it comes to video games. I'm about go there right now..."She said.
"Wanna come along? The arcade might even have some games you're familiar with, plus some new arrivals?..."She offered.
Danny knew that he had other things to do...like find the Sailor Guardians, but he's still a teenage boy and his mind rarely could resist the thought of video games or girls, especially both.
"Sure..."He said, with no hesitation while he seemed to forget his mission for the time being.
A little later
The two teenagers were now walking to the arcade together and were chatting again.
"So, Danny-Kun? How do you like Juuban so far?..."Makoto asked.
"Similar streets that are almost like a maze and dumb thugs shaking down random tourists aside, it's great. The weather is nice and the town is clean..."Danny said.
"I do hope that you don't take bad experiences too personally or an example of what this town is usually like. The people of Juuban are usually kinder and less rude than that but those idiots. Though, they are the kind that you can find just about anywhere in the world..."Makoto said.
"Don't worry, I know. We have people like them back in Amity Park...and every bit as stupid too..."Danny said, recalling Dash and his cronies.
"I see..."She said.
With that the two teens began laughing as they compared the idiot jerks of their hometowns. As they kept walking and chatting, the tall girl was curious about something.
"Well, Danny-kun..."Makoto began. "Uh, can I ask you something quick?..."She asked.
"Uh, sure..."Danny said, surprised by her stopping.
She smiled at that before acting serious.
"So, Danny. I was wondering, why are you suddenly so fluent at Japanese when yesterday it seemed like you didn't understand me?..."She asked.
"Oh, uh, I spent the whole night... brushing up on Japanese as I can..."Danny answered as she looked at him suspiciously.
However, she smiled.
"Okay then..."She said, seemingly buying it.
Danny let out a breath in relief.
"That was close..." He thought, as they kept walking.
Later
Makoto soon brought Danny to a place that she is very familiar with.
The Crown Game Center.
"Me and my friends come here to hang out almost every day..."Makoto said, as they entered the arcade together.
"Cool..."Danny said as he eyed the place.
It was way more high tech looking than the arcades back home, being bigger with a lot more games to choose from, including games that haven't even debuted in the USA yet.
"Tucker would go nuts if he was here. In fact, I doubt that he would ever want to leave this place if he could..."He thought.
"I'll go get us some tokens..."Makoto said as she went to the token machine near the clerk stand.
She noticed that Motoki wasn't here today and was mildly disappointed.
"I guess he's not working today..."She thought, kinda bummed.
Sure, she knew he had a girlfriend (one who lived in another country) but she still liked him a bit. The tall girl sighed and she placed her yen inside the machine and grabbed her tokens.
"Oh, well...I guess I can still show Danny-kun some games..."She thought, as she tried to see the silver lining in her situation..
"Uh...Makoto?..."Danny asked.
Makoto snapped out of it when she recalled her new friend, who was calling for her attention.
"Oh, sorry for spacing out like that..."She said as she tried to save face.
"Anyway, this arcade has a lot to choose from. One of my favorites is the Sailor V game..."Makoto said.
"Sailor V?..."Danny asked.
"It's an action-adventure game about a super hero fighting bad guys. Wanna try it? I can show you how it works?..."She asked.
"A super hero game, huh? Sure, why not?..."Danny said as they went to where the Sailor V game is.
Makoto brought him to where the game was and Danny examined the game that had a female heroine with blonde hair and a mask on her face, as well as wearing a really short skirt.
"Here is the game. You have to save the world and fight bad guys off as the super-heroine "Sailor V" by going through many obstacles and mini bosses..."Makoto said before gesturing to the control. "This is a side-scrolling game, so you gotta press the buttons and move the switch like this..."She said as she demonstrated how to do so.
"Got it..."Danny said as the game turned on and he tried his first round.
"So..play as a hero, defeat the antagonists and save the world, right?..."He asked.
"Of course, that basically the whole premise of the game..."Makoto said, shrugging a bit.
"Okay..."Danny said as he placed a token inside the machine.
The ghost boy then began playing the game and to his surprise, despite the main character being some girl in a skirt and a mask. He found himself pressing the buttons and moving the switch as he fought bad guys who looked almost as weird as the ghosts he fight.
However, he saw his character get hit and sent back by some monster already.
"Huh? More challenging than I thought..."He said as he kept making progress on the game.
"You're doing great so far, Danny-kun. Keep it up..."Makoto said, being encouraging as her new friend was getting into the game.
Danny played for a few minutes and frowned when he faced a bigger looking monster and didn't like the end result.
"Darn, I already lost a life to that thing..."He complained as he already lost a life and had two left.
Makoto giggled at this.
"Well, Usagi and I did some trouble beating that monster on our first try on this game too. ..So, did I. No worries, you got this..."She said as he friend kept making rookie mistakes on the "Sailor V" game.
However, someone spotted them and tried to call for her attention.
"Makoto-chan!..."Was heard.
Makoto turned around and saw her friends, Usagi, Rei and Ami approach her, with Luna and Chibi-Usa too.
"Hey..."She said.
"What are you doing here? Didn't you hear us call?..."Ami asked and Makoto sweat-dropped at that.
"Sorry, I was occupied..."She said as she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.
"Another boy, no doubt..." Rei said under her breath.
Makoto sent her an annoyed look before shrugging.
"Uh...sort of..."She said, before noticing that one members of their group is absent.
"Where's Minako-chan?..."Makoto asked, noticing her absence.
"Not sure..."Ami answered.
"Knowing her, she's probably going crazy over some sale...or some boy..."Usagi answered.
"You're one to talk..."Rei said with a sigh, since even she had to admit it's plausible with their blonde friend.
"So...Mako-chan? Who's your new friend over there?..."Usagi asked in a mischievous way as they pointed towards Danny.
The tall girl turned around and saw that Usagi was talking about Danny, who hadn't yet noticed that her friends had just arrived as he was still absorbed by the game.
"His name is Danny, a new friend of mine who is visiting from America..."Makoto answered.
"Ooh... friend, eh?..." Usagi asks, not buying it. "Then why were you guys having lunch together at the park and looked pretty cozy?..."She asked.
"Usagi!..." Ami chided her like she would a smaller child.
The blonde girl pouted, while Makoto seemed surprised.
"You guys saw us?..."She asked.
"Uh-Huh. We were gonna talk to you, but you guys had already left..."Usagi said, arms crossed.
"I see..."The tall girl said.
Makoto didn't know how to respond to this and looked back at Danny, who made yet another mistake and she giggled at the pouty face that he made before playing again with his last life.
"So, tell us about him?..."Usagi asked, wanting to hear all the details.
" Like I said, he's here on vacation from a place called Amity Park in America..."The tall girl said.
"Amity Park? Why does that place sound familiar?..."Ami wondered, before hearing the very familiar sound of game over from the Sailor V arcade game.
Danny, who had been playing the video game, already lost his last life and got upset.
"Darn it. That boss monster is a real powerhouse. Almost like the first boss in DOOM..."He muttered, getting really into the game after just playing it once.
However, his new female friend called for his attention before he could consider trying again.
"Danny-kun, can you come here for a moment?..."The tall girl called out to him.
Seeing Makoto motioning him to join, Danny followed and saw a bunch of other girls, a child and a cat as well.
"Oh, Danny-kun..."Makoto said, getting his attention."These are my friends, Ami, Usagi and Rei...and Usagi's little cousin, Chibi-Usa..."She introduced.
"Girls, this is Danny Fenton from America. He's on vacation..."She said, repeating what Danny told her earlier.
"Uh, hi..."Danny said in a shy voice as he looked at these girls.
Usagi was blonde with blue eyes and had her hair in pigtails that almost looked like rabbit ears. Rei had long black hair, purple eyes and had a pretty serious expression on her face while Ami had short, dark hair with a blue tint, blue eyes and was carrying a black cat in her arms. Chibi-Usa, who looked no older than 5, had PINK hair in a hairstyle that was similar to Usagi's.
"Huh, are hairstyles like that popular here or something?..."He thought but chose not to say as the girls introduced themselves to him.
"Hi there..."Usagi said in a friendly voice.
"Hi..."Chibi Usa said with a wave.
"Hello..."Ami said.
"Nice meeting you..."Rei said, but kept a reserved look on her face as she felt something was off, but wasn't sure why.
"Likewise..."Danny said, sending a friendly smile.
Usagi smiled back and being the most...enthusiastic of the group, didn't know when to keep her mouth shut.
"So, Mako-chan? How long have you two have known each other?..." Usagi asks slyly.
"Actually, we met yesterday and we only just met up again again at the park..."Makoto said, recalling everything that's happened within the last two days.
"And you didn't tell us?..."Usagi pressed on, and Danny raised a brow.
"Uh...she's being a little nosy..."He thought, but didn't say out loud as his new female friend answered on their behalf.
"Uh...no...because I had just met him yesterday and didn't even know his name until earlier today..."Makoto said, being honest.
"Uh...yeah...I saw Makoto in the park and we started talking..."Danny added.
"Is that so? Just talking, right?..."Usagi said, grinning while her purple eyed friend seemed to find her antics to being annoying.
"Don't be so nosy! Don't you see you're just getting on their nerves!..."Rei shouted.
"Don't be so mean, Rei!..."Usagi shouted back.
The two girls then began one of their infamous arguments and Danny stood back in surprise.
"Um, what's going on with them?..."He said as the two girls kept at it, unsure what to do now.
However, Makoto and the other girls didn't seem worried, just annoyed.
"Don't worry, those two are always fighting but it's nothing serious. Just let them tire themselves out...Makoto said, like it's no big deal.
"Huh?..."He thought as Ami tried to break it up.
"Now, now..let's not ruin our first impression in front of Makoto-chan's new friend..."Ami said, reminding them that they have company.
Rei and Usagi stopped their argument and looked embarrassed.
"Sorry..."They both apologized for acting like that.
"Uh...it's okay..."He said, unsure how to respond.
Danny then noticed the black cat and smiled.
"Aw, who are you?..."He said as he petted the female cat, who enjoyed it.
"This here is Luna, she's my cat..."Usagi said.
"She's pretty cute. Hi, girl..."He said as he kept petting her.
"This boy is unusual but...oh...that feels good!..."Luna thought as she purred as the boy continued to pet her.
Once he was done, Danny began chatting with Makoto's friends.
"Anyway, I see you were playing the Sailor V game. Let me guess, you couldn't beat the first boss, did ya?..."Usagi said.
Danny sighed and shook his head.
"I already lost 3 lives in less than 5 minutes. It was more challenging that I expected..."He admitted.
"Yeah, it's pretty hard for first timers. I should know, me and my friends used to be ones.."Usagi said.
"It took Usagi weeks just to get pass the first level..."Rei said in a snarky way.
"HEY! Those buttons don't respond fast enough to the attacks, Rei!..."Usagi said, huffing.
"Always blaming the control buttons, huh?..."Rei said with an eye-roll and they started arguing again.
"Again?..."Danny thought as Ami and Makoto broke them up.
"Come on guys, we all know that game is tough for first timers..."Makoto said.
"Yeah that Sailor V game is way more challenging than I first thought, but definitely fun..."Danny said, until a certain word he just said escaped his mouth that caught his attention.
"Wait...sailor...hero in a short skirt...oh duh..."The ghost boy thought, unable to believe that he forgot his mission.
He groaned and Makoto noticed his change expression.
"Are you alright, Danny-kun?..."She asked and the boy changed his expression.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Anyway, Makoto. It was cool hanging out with you...but I...just remembered that I gotta meet with my...family. They're probably wondering where I am..."Danny lied, making an excuse to leave.
"Alright. Try not to get lost again. It was nice meeting you again, Danny-kun..."Makoto said.
'You too, and thanks for the lunch..."Danny said as he waved goodbye to Makoto and all of her friends.
"It was nice meeting you all too, see ya..."Danny said as he soon left.
"Bye Danny-san..."Usagi and the others waved until he was gone.
Makoto waved goodbye before going back to her friends. Luna and Chibi-Usa both had suspicious looks on their faces, but for different reasons.
"Strange...that boy had an unusual energy to him and yet I sensed no ill intention. Why?..."Luna thought, curious.
"I don't recall that the girls were suppose to meet some American tourist or that they met a guy named Danny before. What's going on here?..."Chibi-Usa thought, being suspicious.
However, they weren't the only ones as Rei glanced in the direction where the boy went.
"Strange...why did I feel...a chill around him..."She wondered, curious and almost uneasy but she couldn't explain why.
Usagi, not sensing anything a miss, turned to her tall friend once Danny was gone and grinned.
"So...I see your back to the boyfriend hunt again?..."Usagi said in a teasing manner.
"Huh? What?..."Makoto asked, confused.
"Come on, tell how you managed to a get with a date with Danny?..."Usagi asked, wanting to hear all the details.
"Date? We weren't on a date, Danny-kun and I were just hanging out and I showed him how to play the game..."Makoto said, confused by what she is talking about.
Her blonde friend, however, giggled like she knew something that she didn't yet.
"Don't act all naive with us, Makoto. You had lunch with Danny and went to the arcade together. At our age, that's pretty much a date itself..."Usagi said.
"Only you would be childish enough to consider that last part a date..."Rei said, earning a glare from her blonde girl.
Makoto seemed surprised and looked a bit perplexed at her friend's accusation, but not repulsed.
"Date? I don't think so. He just did a nice thing by carrying my items home and I invited him here since he doesn't seem to know his way around here yet..."Makoto said, but her friend didn't seem to buy it.
"Come on, you gotta admit that he is pretty cute in a skinny way, plus I noticed how he was glancing at you. I think he likes you..."Usagi said, giggling.
"Usagi, settle down..."Ami said while Makoto seemed surprised.
She thought about it but shook her head, thinking that Usagi is just being silly again.
"You're reading too much into it, Usa-chan He is nice...but I learned a long time ago that guys don't go for girls that are taller than them...or tall girls in general..."Makoto said bitterly, remembering unpleasant memories from her past.
"Not all guys are shallow like that, Makoto-chan..."Ami said, but her statuesque friend just sighed.
"Even if so, he was just being nice to me because I helped him out yesterday from some bullies. I'm sure that he only see me as a new friend that he made on his trip..."Makoto said, wanting to be realistic.
"Well, even if he is shorter, I still think he likes you..."Usagi said, sounding confident.
"As I said, don't read too much into it. He probably just looking in the general direction or something..."Makoto said, while her blonde friend still seemed to believe her own theory more.
The girls soon continued playing the arcade games and talk about recent events such as the rescue from the fire at the apartment complex, all the while Rei, Luna and Chibi-Usa wondered about that boy whom they had just met.
One thing that is certain, they had a feeling that this would not be their last meeting with the dark haired boy from America.
With Danny
The ghost boy was angry at himself for forgetting his mission because of a pretty face on a tall body. He berated himself for getting so distracted like that.
"Stupid! I can't believe that I got so distracted by a game and how hot she is that I forgot about the whole reason I was here. Sam would have a cow if she ever found out!..."He thought, shaking his head.
He was kind of glad now that he was on a solo mission since he didn't have to deal with a lecture, but he knew that he goofed up and had to own up to it.
What's done is done and he had to make up for lost time and go back to looking for the sailor guardians. Since those girls were locals, he could've asked about them but he missed his chance to do so.
"I should have asked Makoto and her friends if they knew anything about the, and where to find them...too late now. Although, I could talk with Makoto more..."He thought as he considered going back but realized it might be strange.
He shook his head and just decided to find secluded place to go ghost. As he turned the corner, he ended up colliding with someone way.
"AH!..."
"Oof..."
"Not again!..."Danny said, wondering what's up with his luck lately.
He got up and saw that thankfully the person who he bumped into wasn't some bully, but a young girl...with a white cat who was looking miffed, but froze up upon seeing Danny.
The girl seemed to be around his height, with long blonde hair with a red bow in it, blue eyes and fair skin. She was kind of pretty and she was currently upset that her items were on the ground.
"My stuff!..."The girl said, sounding upset.
"Oh, sorry..."Danny said apologetically. "I didn't see you . Here, let me help you up..."He said as he offered his hand to help her up.
The girl turned to him and seemed silent for a moment, as if lost in thought for a moment.
"Is she mad? I hope not, she's kind of pretty. Is she okay though?..."Danny thought, worried but was relieved when she responded and didn't sound angry
"Oh...uh...no worries. It was just an accident..."The girl said as he took his hand and was helped up.
"Is your cat okay?..."Danny asked, seeing the cat hide behind her.
"Oh no worries, Artemis is fine..."The girl said, smiling and waving it off.
"That's good..."Danny said, relieved this pretty blonde girl isn't mad and that her pet isn't hurt either
"Thank you for helping me up...uh, what's your name?..."The blonde girl asked, smiling at him.
"My name is Danny Fenton...uh...western placement of the name...since I'm from America..."Danny said, recalling he's in Japan.
The blonde girl smiled and giggled in a cutesy manner before she shook his hand.
"It's nice to meet you Danny-san. My name is Aino Minako..."The blonde girl said, looking upbeat as she met this boy.
She got a good look at Danny and is pretty happy with what she sees.
"What a cutie!~..."She thought, as she brushed some of her blonde locks of hair behind her ear, still smiling at him.
Oh boy.
-To be continued-
Next time on A Phantom's Love and Courage
Fateful Encounters?
A/N: Me and NeoMark and Jay The Average Fanboy would like to thank and for helping with this chapter. You guys rock :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
Luiz4200: Yeah.
Invader Johnny: Looks like it.
RonaldM40196867:
1) I think it's her bravery.
2) Looks like it.
3) I think it could have been better in the romance department.
Jebest4781 and LockAndKey989: Thank you :)
William Escobar 608:
1) De nada :)
2) Lo parece.
3) Danny solo estaba sorprendido de volver a ver a Makoto e iba a ir a hablar con ella.
4) Lo parece
5) JAJAJA XD.
6) :)
7) ¿Disculpe?
8) Lo haré, pero primero quiero centrarme en Staged, Goin Kaboom y Hot Ectoplasma.
Simm36: Gracias.
Leonardo: I'll think about it.
JeaSonDash, Guest and Anthony1l: How's this?
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)
